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King Arthur and Nonprofit Appeal Letter Stories
Read the first part of this post here
According to Robert McKee, there are 4 Primary techniques for Progression
Social progression-Widen the impact of character actions into society
Personal progression-Dark personal secrets
Symbolic ascension -Builds the symbol from the particular to the universal- The specific to the archetypal
Ironic ascension– Transition-counterpoint or held in common- The WATCH in a few dollars more
The new King Arthur movie has all of these.
In the new Guy Ritchie movie, King Arthur, the Legend of the Sword,
Social progression-Widen the impact of character actions into society-At first Arthur just wants to keep his friends and his territory safe, but, in the end, people start rallying around him, and he realizes that the whole of society depends on his taking his organizational abilities-NATIONAL.
Personal progression-Dark personal secrets-Arthur has nightmares and dark personal secrets-that he actively resists, until he’s forced to look at them at last.
Symbolic ascension -Builds the symbol from the particular to the universal- The specific to the archetypal. So in the beginning, Arthur has a wide brutish rude boy kind of life, which makes his fighting formidable. This comes back later as he has to fight for his life with a sword against the total manifestation of evil that will destroy his world.
Ironic ascension– What is it? Transition-counterpoint or held in common- The WATCH in a few dollars more-What does this mean? I would like to see more appeal letters experiment with Irony-in a story, irony looks like this:
- Pushed further and further from her goal-only to discover she’s been led right to it.
- He throws away what he later finds is indispensable to him. (Arthur throws away the sword)
- To reach a goal he unwittingly takes the precise steps necessary to lead him away. (He runs away from Vortigan, yet ends up winning)
- He comes into possession of something he is sure will make him miserable. Does everything possible to get rid of it- only to discover it’s the gift of happiness.
Now what sort of story should you tell?
Importantly, you must withhold information to keep the audience’s attention- Do not create a flashback until you have created in the audience a Need or a Desire to Know.
Here are some different kinds of stories.
- Mystery-closed-withhold the identity of the killer
- Mystery open-sees the murder-how will he catch him?
- Suspense- we know the same information
- Dramatic irony- the audience knows more than the characters-Dread!
Never write a line of dialogue when you can create a visual impression-so how will you do this in your appeal letter?
Want more appeal letter advice?
- 3 Brutally Honest Appeal Letter Critiques
- How to write a story for an appeal letter
- A Winning Formula to write your appeal letter
- Listen to an interview with Mazarine Treyz on CauseVox on how to write fundraising appeal letters
- Appeal Letter Example from Agents of Good– Holy Beep!
- Frequently Asked Questions on How to Write an Appeal Letter (my post on Guidestar.org)
Want 43+ more tips on how to write successful appeal letters? Just go here!