you’ve stumbled into a story shop
BRAND — FILM — FICTION — AND OTHER STORIES
ALL THOSE STORIES, EVERYWHERE.
There’s a story baked inside the restaurant down the street. A hundred-thousand of them. The cocktails are named after the bartender’s past lovers — a substantial selection of bitter and sweet. Some poor soul had a mouse run up his trouser leg while sitting at table twelve. If you were to peel away the wallpaper in the women’s washroom, you’d find “Sofia + Jerry 1963” still penned on the wall.
That hummingbird flapping outside your window just saw your neighbour kiss her landscaper over by the hydrangeas.
The library book you checked out was in Namibia last week, where a few grains of desert sand got caught in its spine.
The bottle of wine you’re drinking? It was made from grapevines that eavesdropped on gossip about Napoleon’s exile — 200 years ago.
Life is nothing without stories.
The feelings they evoke.
What they inspire us to do.
We don’t collect things or experiences.
We collect stories.
HELLO.
I’M SANDRA O’CONNELL
(AKA STUDIO TELLTALE)
As a strategy and writing consultant, I partner with brands to shape their world, stories, and voice — so they differentiate themselves, arouse emotions*, and create long-lasting connection with their audiences.
I dream up my own stories, too.
I write screenplays, novellas, postcards, and other stories.
A TELLTALE NEWSLETTER
Receive a few thoughts on story now and again. Storied brands, inspiring tales, and curious words. I promise some delight.
THE “STUDIO”
I’m not a studio in the traditional agency sense — a bunch of creatives buzzing in a brick-walled loft.
It’s just me here. And my imagination.
My studio is more akin to a whimsical shed at the edge of an overgrown garden (think: wildflowers and long grasses), or a book-lined nook tucked away in a brownstone that, if you crane your neck up, you can see through a window from the sidewalk of a West Village street.
Fancy a chat?
*P.S.
“Brain scans are revealing what happens in our heads when we read a detailed description, an evocative metaphor, or an emotional exchange between characters. Stories, this research is showing, stimulate the brain and even change how we act in life.”
— Annie Murphy Paul, “Your Brain on Fiction”; The New York Times; March 17, 2012