What Tiger King can teach us about writing a good story

The smash hit Netflix documentary Tiger King took the world by storm, providing some welcome relief in these trying times, but what made the story just so entertaining? 

The docu-series reportedly started out as an exposé about how animals are mistreated by private owners across the US. It didn’t take long, however, for it to morph into something completely different, thanks to the colourful characters and the bizarre scandal that surrounds them. As the series goes on, more and more layers are peeled back to reveal more and more unbelievable accusations and alleged crimes, until the audience is left not knowing which way is up. It is this mystery and intrigue, coupled with the down-right baffling characters that makes the series an absolute ‘must-watch’.

Although not the obvious place to search for writing inspiration, there is a lot that we can learn from this strange and shocking tale. After watching (and re-watching, then watching again) the series, we’ve pulled out our top 5 writing tips from the most talked-about story of the lockdown so far.

1. Create interesting characters

Let’s face it, you can’t get much more interesting than a “gay, gun-carrying redneck” who owns hundreds of big cats and lives with his two husbands out in the middle of Oklahoma (not to mention his golden mullet, handle bar moustache and vast array of fringed cowboy jackets). His arch nemesis Carole Baskin isn't any less interesting with a troubled past, mysteriously ‘missing’ first husband and a second husband that likes to wear a tiger outfit and leash. People enjoy watching and reading about over-the-top characters. Make sure you include at least one larger-than-life focal character to grab their attention.

All of the characters in Tiger King are tainted by someone’s finger-pointing at some point in the series, and yet the majority still have some redeeming qualities. Balancing likeable and unlikable traits creates characters with more depth, encouraging the audience to make their own moral judgements and prolonging their interest. 

2. Add ‘meme-worthy’ dialogue

How many times have you heard the phrase “Hey there all you cool cats and kittens” or “I’m as gay as a three dollar bill”? This is a show full of ‘sound-bite’ dialogue that’s almost all quotable, which can serve as inspiration for anyone’s writing.

Dialogue seriously enhances characterisation. By giving your characters a distinctive voice, you can emphasise certain traits and help to build their persona. But don’t just stop at the words they use, how they say them can be equally important.

For example, if Tiger King were a series of short stories, the dialogue might look something like this:

“If someone wanted to kill you, they’d put sardine oil all over you,” Carole chuckled eerily.

“I’ve been on the cover of Hollywood Magazine, twice,” Joe declared proudly as he flicked his golden curls.

3. Mystery is King

Don’t give your audience everything in one go, sometimes leaving questions unanswered is the best way to keep people gripped. 

Presenting your audience or reader with the evidence and letting them decipher ‘who-dunnit’ can make for an extremely entertaining read, not to mention the added value of wanting to discuss their theories with others (I’m sure we’ve all had countless conversations about whether Carole Baskin killed her husband and how she hid the body).

4. Draw on real life (it can be more bizarre than anything you could imagine)

If you meet someone in your life that is even half as much of a twisted caricature as Joe Exotic, write down your interactions, write down everything you notice about them - they might be central to a great plot one day.

Get into the habit of carrying a notebook around as much as you can and recording any noteworthy moments in your life, anything that piques your curiosity. Chances are, if you feel that it's worth writing down, other people will be interested to read it. Overheard conversations between strangers can also make great character dialogue if you’re struggling to find the words to create natural-sounding speech.

5. Sometimes you just have to embrace the chaos

If we’ve learnt anything from Tiger King, it's that chaos can be extremely entertaining. Sometimes, at the climax of your story, you just have to throw out the rule book and have 6 or 7 plots running at once. It won’t work for every story but sometimes, and especially in this case, more really is more.

… and that concludes our round up of writing tips. Thank you Netflix and the cast of Tiger King for being the literary inspiration we never knew we needed.

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We have a fabulous short story read to you by the author Ida Williams - come on over and have a listen on our podcast - Anchor.fm/HappyLDNPress

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If any of these tips have inspired you to put pen to paper, we’d love to hear from you! Check out our writing competition Hi2020.co.uk to enter your short story and have the chance to be published - Hurry 21st April is the end of the big early bird discount: 

Are you a New Writer looking to get your story in print?

Now is your chance! 

Hi 20:20  Short Story Competition

If you are an unpublished writer in the Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire or London area and you want your story to be published in a beautifully illustrated book, check out our latest short story competition: 

Hi2020.co.uk

This is your chance to showcase your skills. The story must be original and between 1000 and 1500 words, written in English from among the following given topics：

• Adventure/travel
• Thriller/Dark
• Romance
• Science/Fantasy
• Young Writers (any subject) - for 11 to 18 yrs

The competition is aimed at finding the best short stories from new writers who have not yet had a chance to shine. Writers need to be over 11 years old and currently reside in one of the three above mentioned districts. 

Twenty individual winners will be published in a beautifully illustrated book produced by Happy London Press. These twenty winners will also be interviewed on-air at Wycombe Sound 106.6fm, and have a podcast made of their story, read by either the author or an actor and then posted on our podcast station Anchor.fm/HappyLDNPress.

COMPETITION HAS NOW BEEN EXTENDED, ENTRIES DUE BY 20TH JULY.