“Storytelling is joke telling. It’s knowing your punchline, your ending. Knowing that everything you’re saying from the first sentence to the last is leading to a singular goal and ideally confirming some truth that deepens our understanding of who we are as human beings.”
I always say that most of the best advice is totally obvious. This is another great example of great, obvious advice.
With some exceptions (fiction literature, conversations with your SO), you’re telling a story to deliver a punchline. But it’s SO easy to forget this and get caught up in writing the story without an ending…which is a great way to disappoint your audience.