Story Guide

The how’s and the why’s of 100 Rural Years story-telling

We have two kinds of stories in 100 Rural Years:

• The historical Perspective Story
• The People and Personalities Cameo

They are very similar in presentation, but their internal structures vary slightly. Firstly I present the details of the Historical Perspective Story, and then latterly I discuss the Cameo’s distinctive nature.

The Historical Perspective Story

Stories have a very short ‘title’ that help in navigating the website and are easy to remember. But immersive stories like ours need something more detailed, something that explains the particular perspective we are taking on the issue at hand.

If you like, your sub-title can be simply ‘Overview’ or ‘Introduction’, but something more detailed is better; you might find it easier to write the sub-title once the whole article is finished and you’re more familiar with the throughline.

It’s important to include a local context early because these stories are about the ACRE Network Members (ANMs), and rural life throughout England. Here’s an example of a ‘call-out’ that helps to relate the story on a local level. There’s more said about call-outs later…

This introduction section can be quite short; in fact it is more about arresting attention than presenting arguments.

Following the introduction the main body of the story is sequenced by time spanning the last 100 years. It provides historic contexts in one or more historic periods which are common concerns across all stories. This will ensure that the stories exhibit cohesion; that they truly do belong together.

I’ve split the guide up into sections so I can give examples of how the content works. As you read through you will see that the standard sections and titles (which must be changed!) are presented.

RURAL DECLINE – CHALLENGES & EARLY RESPONSES (1870-1920)

Each historic section (covering a specific historic period) will be given a heading.

The discourse need not be explicit about the period it is set (so long as each historic section follows in chronological order); but to ensure clarity the first section should refer to a definite time period.

That said, it is helpful to change the default section titles you see in this story-guide. These default section titles are hints to the author concerning the time period to be considered. Because all authors get the same hints (this same guide) the stories will exhibit cohesion; similarities that mean they do belong together on the website. But we want to obscure the structure too, so that the stories don’t feel predictable.

So do change the section headings. For example Louise used ‘A lasting legacy of the First World War’ rather than the default title ‘The War Years (1939-1945)’, in section 2 of the Village Halls story.

Also, we can add annecdotes and recollections, they are displayed in an ‘accordion’ with a different colouring (to show that they are in a different ‘voice’ to the main content); here’s an example of how those look:

THE FIRST RCCs (1920 -45)

Whilst a story may present only a singular historic period, it is the journey through time (and across regions) from which we hope lessons can be learned.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Santayana, George:: The Life of Reason (1905-1906): Vol. I, Reason in Common Sense

We do not want all stories slavishly following the fullest structure, all presenting 8 distinct historic sections – as this will reveal the structure of the whole works too starkly; which would create a barrier to immersion in to the content for the visitor.

Neither structure nor style must be allowed to subvert the content.

On average the stories should be covering three historic periods.

POST WAR EXPANSION (1945-73)

The historic sections should not feel overly obligated to the specification of the historic periods. It is, for example, quite reasonable to be talking about the early 1960’s in discussion concerning The Post War Years.

With a well researched story their ought to be plenty of historical references – in fact the stories are intended as gateways to the archives. Each of the historic perspective sections (and there should be at least 3 such sections) should include a list of ‘further reading’.

Amongst other things, stories are purposed to provide encouragement to, or support of, further research; which means further reading information is highly desirable.

For this we need clear titles and precise web-links. The links should take us as close to the content as possible. For example, here you will see a link to a specific archive artefact; the link doesn’t just go to the archive’s website, but to the specific catalogue record of the artefact.

The physical nature of the archives is a huge barrier to access, so the closer we can get to it, the better!

COMMUNITY INITIATIVES SCHEME, NEW COUNTIES (1973-77)

Given the barrier to access that physical documents in (potentially) remote archives present we need the stories to provide a lot of detail. Each historic section that is included should be around 500 words. This makes the whole article in the order of 2,000 words; which is something really worth spending time with.

RETURN OF THE RURAL DEPARTMENT (1977-87)

Here’s what 500 words looks like, so you have a feel for the amount of content needed (it’s all in Latin here I’m afraid…)

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vivamus bibendum ultricies mauris, vel tincidunt turpis elementum in. Praesent ut sollicitudin eros, eu bibendum magna. Nulla massa dui, fringilla eget eleifend nec, vestibulum at nunc. Fusce tempus iaculis cursus. Vivamus fringilla, massa at maximus lobortis, mi enim imperdiet ante, id tristique dolor arcu ac nulla. Fusce non commodo sem. Phasellus sem nisl, tristique vitae urna ac, sagittis accumsan metus. Fusce euismod in massa vitae pharetra. Cras purus diam, facilisis non finibus eu, sagittis ut enim. Nulla facilisi. Vivamus a quam at purus tincidunt tempus. Nullam vel luctus leo. Aliquam erat volutpat.

Vestibulum at leo augue. Suspendisse potenti. Quisque at turpis blandit mauris condimentum auctor nec vitae sapien. Sed eu dui ut velit dapibus mollis non eu mauris. Sed ultricies tincidunt nibh, in scelerisque risus aliquet sit amet. Aliquam aliquet tincidunt magna quis sollicitudin. In id magna sed nibh feugiat scelerisque auctor sodales lacus.

Nulla hendrerit mi nulla, at consectetur massa consequat nec. Curabitur congue rhoncus neque. Suspendisse pulvinar, sem vitae mollis malesuada, diam eros sodales leo, eget pretium justo purus at justo. Vivamus vitae diam augue. Morbi iaculis leo maximus sodales vulputate. Nulla sit amet ante nulla. Nullam quis purus sed felis placerat pretium. Nullam convallis auctor justo, id bibendum lectus volutpat et. Aliquam erat volutpat. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Aenean turpis tellus, fermentum eget est et, mollis dapibus justo.

Maecenas sodales sollicitudin purus eget maximus. In faucibus tellus blandit mauris sodales, ac fringilla turpis euismod. Aenean non justo diam. Nam egestas, nulla et eleifend auctor, ipsum diam tempus quam, imperdiet vestibulum lorem quam sed magna. Suspendisse posuere eu ligula at auctor. Cras sollicitudin dapibus sapien, sit amet sagittis sapien sollicitudin tincidunt. In consectetur tellus nec ornare vehicula.

Nam leo sapien, fermentum a facilisis non, rhoncus at diam. Donec rhoncus consectetur sodales. Sed eu tempor turpis. Suspendisse semper vel nisl at pharetra. Fusce vitae vehicula neque. In sagittis dui eget purus commodo mattis. Sed ornare accumsan odio, vitae fringilla neque mattis a. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi porta sollicitudin libero, ut pulvinar risus bibendum vitae. Vestibulum metus lectus, sollicitudin eu semper in, ultrices vestibulum nisi. Proin ut lorem malesuada, dapibus sem non, vehicula nibh. Maecenas eget sem sit amet sem convallis molestie.

ACRE TAKES THE LEAD (1987-94)

You might notice I stuck a video in the middle of all that latin-text. I did that to demonstrate how embedded media can break-up an otherwise potentially daunting block of words.

As we collect recollections from the Network Members we will group them by theme (where possible) and then we can include them within the stories which will also break-up the lengthy narrative and will create greater local relationships within the them, here’s an example:

DIFFERENCES CHALLENGE THE MOVEMENT (1994-2001)

2,000 words is quite a lot to get through and the stories could become heavy-going for a screen experience.

Stories need pace

Pace is achieved by placing content of varying ‘weights’ in a rhythmic order. By gift of the story structure we will achieve that if we provide all of the needed parts at each of the required weights.

The main (500 words) text of historic sections should be the heaviest components on the page – those parts that require, attract and keep attention. They sound the deep bass notes of the story’s rhythm. This is where both author and reader will immerse themselves.

The counter-beat, which impels us to keep moving forward, comes from the staccato nature of the section headings. This is why it is important that each section has a heading. It is also important to recognize that the role of the heading is less to describe the up-coming content and more to impel us to freshen our eyes – something new is coming up!

All stories will share this basic rhythm – but they will have distinct melodies by virtue of the interspersion of ‘quotes’, ‘call-outs’ and the embedding of media.

Here’s an embedded audio clip set in-line with the text. It has a caption but no other detail.

The embedded media isn’t ‘over-fussy’ – whilst it is embedded within the main story text it doesn’t intrude and can be considered as and when the reader decides.

We can embed audio-clips, video-clips or images; providing the author or researcher has been able to find something suitable. Scanned images of actual historic documents would be the crown jewels of any story! Of course we would also want a ‘further reading’ link that referenced the full document.

Breaking-up large blocks of text with quotes and media prevent the repetitiveness that stories could otherwise have – but more than that, the media gives a greater connection with the history for the reader.

“There are simply too many notes.”

Joseph II, Emporer:: Amadeus: Saul Zaentz Co., 1984

Embedded media (and additional call-outs) should not over-power the main through-line. Perhaps on average there should be one such of each for every section that makes up the main through-line; a higher ratio if there were to be very few sections in a story.

However, whilst the proliferation of embedded media should not over-power the main through-line, the content of them can be significant (ie. Long-form video) so that they earn the interruption that they have caused. Video and audio clips should be worth deflecting the reader’s attention.

THE YEARS AFTER RE-UNION (2001-)

So we can break-up the presentation of the main through-line with images, audio clips, videos, and stand-out quotes. They are not over-fussy and do not demand attention. The reader can pay them heed at their own discretion. What they are about should be evident from where they are placed within the main text.

That said, we do want our stories to demonstrate the local nature of the issues, challenges and successes under discussion. We want to bring the stories back to a local perspective, because the website isn’t just about ‘issues’; it’s about people, places, communities and events as well.

To achieve this we can include ‘call-outs’; boxes of content that stand well off from the main text. They are like mini case-studies of the theme of the story at a local (or regional) level. They may concern:

• Places (buildings, villages, counties)
• People (similar to the very first call-out in this story guide)
• Events (especially later, in the ‘current perspectives’ section – see below)
• Historic documents from a region related to the story’s theme

Call-outs contain:

• A regional heading
• A piece of media (typically with a credit)
• An ‘anecdote’

The regional heading will link to the associated ANM’s page within the 100 Rural Years website where visitors will see the other stories that reference the region and information on how to contact the ANM or the county archive of the ANM.

The media can be images (of people, buildings or historic documents perhaps); audio-clips or video-clips. You can see examples of each just below here.

An ‘anecdote’ is simply two to three sentences that put the media into context with respect to the main through-line but in a regional scope. The anecdote doesn’t need to make reference to the main through-line (the page presentation makes this relation) – it just needs to be talking about the same concern.

In Conclusion

After all of the historic perspectives there should be a final rounding-out of the discourse. This might summarise the key points or else takes a secondary, complimentary, discourse that perhaps becomes apparent from reading all of the historic contexts – even though they were authored against the specific rural theme of the story, other common threads may be apparent.

Current Perspectives

The Impact of the Issue on Today’s Communities

After all of the historical research and written perspectives the story should bring us back to the current day in the ‘current perspectives’ chapter. It would again be ideal to change the default titles.

There will be one or more sections, covering aspects like:

• How the history and the issue effects communities today (impacts, challenges that remain, or return)
• How challenges have been resolved (successes)
• What is happening next
• <<<please suggest other things that might be covered here>>>

There is likely less additional content (media) to support these sections, but this is an ideal place to include newly created media – such as oral history video interviews.

It is also highly desireable to include a call-out regarding any future events that relate to the theme of the story, like this one below:

The Historical Perspective Story in Summary

So a story on the 100 Rural Years website addresses a specific rural issue by providing

• A well researched and lengthy historical perspective of around 1,500 words presented in chronological order giving some regard to our standard ‘historic periods’.
• between 3 and 6 pieces of supporting media, including scans of historic documents
• 3 or so ‘regional call-outs’ that present a local anecdote with media about places, people, events or historic documents.
• A shorter (~500 words) reflection on current and future perspectives
• An oral history video interview.
• An impetus to get involved with a future event.

The Cameo Story

Cameo’s also follow a chronological order, but the chronology relates not to historical periods, but rather to life stages; perhaps:

• Early Life
• Education
• Working Life
• Retirement Years

It may be that most of the cameo relates to the working life of the subject; however it is worth including some context in the other stages as this gives more opportunity to create links through to the related ACRE Network member pages.

It’s less important in cameos to sectionalise the content by chronological period than it is in the historical perspectives. In fact ‘early life’, say, may only be covered briefly in the text of a story call-out.

Because cameos focus on individuals, rather than issues, they less directly speak to our purpose of ‘lessons learned’ (excepting of course the individuals concerned may well have led on a major challenge and success, but not necessarilly so). To counter this we need to ensure that our cameos are really strong in terms of meeting our ‘celebration’ purpose – which is why story call-outs to individual Network member pages are of key importance. Whereas an historical perspective story may include 2 or 3 story call-outs, a cameo should really aim to include more than 3 such call-outs.

A cameo ought to be written in an authentic voice; expressing ideas and opinions of the author who will have had first-hand experience relating to the subject, or at least of the subject’s impact on rural communities. And it is drawing upon these experiences that will make our stories unique. However, whilst we do not seek a wholly objective and evidenced narrative, we need to remain sensitive to opposing points of view. Which means we must include citations and attributions wherever possible. It is especially useful to make use of direct attributed quotations, rather than to rely only upon paraphrasing.

A pure cameo, of course, would not cover anything other than the life of the subject. However, a cameo in the context of 100 Rural Years ought to culminate in a current and future perspective; drawing specific attention to the lasting impacts of the subject’s life on rural communities and rural comunity action.

The essential characteristics of a cameo that distinguishes it from an historical perspective are:

• They focus on a person rather than an issue
• They have a personal chronology, rather than an era based narrative
• They need to promote our sense of celebration by providing more call-outs to the Network member pages.
• They require an authentic authorial voice, which therefore needs strong attribution and citation.
• Unlike a stand-alone cameo, they need to look closely at lasting impacts and the relevance of that life upon us today and in to the future.

Additional Content

Stories will be presented in summary in a variety of places (listings pages, social media platforms, search engine results) and therefor a short form ‘abstract’ is also required. This is 2 or 3 sentences.

Stories are provenanced by the experience of the author and so we also need an an author image, name (or nom-de-plume) with a short biographical paragraph.

Contributing a Story

If you think you’d like to write a story for this website as a citizen historian – please do get in touch: contribute@100ruralyears.uk

Thank you for taking the time to read this Story Guide.