Help With ~ StoryMaps

Conceptualizing and Outlining

Successful story maps typically emerge from a planning process that is both more time consuming and complex than the production process itself. Developing a compelling narrative requires knowing who you are making this story for, what you want them to learn, how you can connect with them most effectively. The essential steps in the pre-production process therefore include:

• Identifying your target audience
• Defining your key takeaways
• Creating a content inventory
• Drafting an outline

For an in-depth overview of this process, consult the guide below.

Planning and Outlining Your Story Map

A guide to pre-production planning with illustrative examples drawn from three story maps.

Organizing and Documenting Media

Create a system for storing and documenting your story's building blocks.

• Image Folder
  Create an image folder on your computer, your Hamilton SSS drive, or in Google Drive. Google Drive provides the advantage of unlimited storage, but the disadvantage of not working with the drag and drop functionality of StoryMaps. Your Hamilton SSS Drive is automatically backed up and available from  any networked computer. Your personal computer is convenient.
   
• Image Naming Conventions
  Sequentially number your images  as you download  them from the web makes it easy to cross index them with metadata about the image. You can also include information about the pixel size of the image in the file name. A brief, descriptive name for the image subject is also helpful. For example: 01_1767x2400_CornAndMelons.png.
   
• Image Index
  Create an image  index as you collect your images. This can start out as a simple "text dump" where you cut and paste information from the image source. Whatever you do, make sure you save the URL where you found your image. Eventually, you will  want to add all the information needed to cite the image in your project.

Structuring and Enhancing StoryMap Narratives

Familiarize yourself with the narrative building blocks StoryMaps makes available to tell your story.

Text

• paragraph
• bulleted list
• numbered list
• quote

Audio and Visual Elements

• images
• embedded web content (including audio and video)
• express maps
• sidecars

Structure

• heading
• subheading
• large paragraph
• sidecars
• navigation

Design

• cover
• themes

Additional Tips and Examples
 

• Visualizing Your Story
  Fitting text, cropping images, and highlighting sections.
   

• A Mapless StoryMap Example
  Includes notes, an accompanying outline and other resources.