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By: Cassandra Gill,
on 9/27/2016
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Ang Lee, the two-time Academy Award-winning director, has noted that we should never underestimate the power of storytelling. Indeed, as a storyteller, Lee has shown through his films the potential of stories to connect people, to heal wounds, to drive change, and to reveal more about ourselves and the world. In particular, Lee has harnessed new technology for storytelling in movies such as Life of Pi (2012) and his upcoming feature film Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (to be released on 11 November, 2016).
The post The earnest faith of a storyteller appeared first on OUPblog.
Ready to be Christmas storyteller, hence the headdress.
It was videoed, so hope to post a clip. So many people enjoyed the performance and were kind enough to say so.
Wish I could spend time as a professional story teller - suppose I am in a way with my children's books - there is never enough time to do everything.
A Very Happy Christmas from myself and my family to you and those you love xx
The final category in my series on designing principles is the storyteller.
Who is your novel’s storyteller?
At the outset, it might not seem like the point-of-view or the narrator you chose to tell your story would have a large impact on its structure, but it does. Imagine if how differently the The Usual Suspects would be if it wasn’t told from the POV of Kevin Spacey’s character sitting in a New York City police station. Or imagine how the design of The Book Thief would be different if it wasn’t narrated by death. Or how the structure of The Hunger Games changes when you move out of the first person narration of Katniss’ mind in the book, to the omniscient eye taken in the movie? The choices of what is put where, and why, changes.
Additionally, consider the design effect of having multiple POV narrators as done in the book Will Grayson, Will Grayson which has two narrators, or Jumped which has three, or Tangled which has four, or Keesha’s House which has eight. How does one move from POV to POV? By alternating chapters? By telling the whole story of one and then the whole story of another? Or maybe weighing the POV of one over another?
The storyteller of your book is going to affects it pacing, its linearity, its patterns of repetition, and the breadth of knowledge and experience the storyteller has access to. It has ramifications in all your other design choices and shouldn’t be chosen lightly.
Hopefully, these six categories have helped you to think about how to structure and plot your own novel in a way that is organic, instead of plugging your characters in to a pre-designed template. Have fun exploring all the alternate plots and structures at your fingertips, and remember that using them should come organically from your premise and characters!
I know this has been a long series (thanks for hanging in there with me). I’ve only got a few final notes before wrapping it all up.
Up Next: Structural Layering (because yes, you probably won’t pick one structure and be done!)
Want to know more about designing principles? Try these links:
This weekend I attended the fifth annual Tucson Festival of Books. TFOB is a among the top five book festivals in the nation. This year has attracted a lot of famous authors like Pulitzer prize-wining journalist David Wood, Jonathan Eig, R.L. Stine, and the lovely Jodi Picoult.My comic book retailer, Charlie Harris, suggested that I read “Her Sister’s Keeper” after enjoying her run on Wonder Woman. I really enjoyed her take on Wonder Woman but I have been a bigger fan ever prose. So much so that I watched that god awful Lifetime made for T.V. adoption of my favorite Picoult’s novel “Salem Falls.”
Saturday, I was one of a lucky group of 600 to attend her panel to promote her new book, “Storyteller”. She talked about the extensive research she did on WWII history and stories she heard from Holicost survivors. She discussed how relevant this issue is after 70 years and expressed her concern that war criminals are able to hide in our country but not people with proper documentation.
The floor opened up to questions and I seized the opportunity When it was my turn I expressed my appreciation”Love and Murder,” and asked if there’s comics in her future. She said that when she was approached by DC to adapt the “Tenth Circle” to a graphic novel they asked if wanted to write Wonder Woman. Her kids begged and pleaded. so she agreed. After the book was released she felt the backlash from fanboys and it was her first time writing a character that wasn’t hers. Then she said, ” Don’t tell anyone at DC, but I like the Marvel characters better.”
The crowd cheered and laughed. Afterwards we had a friendly discussion on which of the big two was better, and then I was rushed off by an elderly woman so she could get her books signed. I hope this gets to Marvel and they that make it worth her to set aside her busy schedule and get her on a Spider-Man book. Maybe the the Marvel fan-zombies can help my DC vs Marvel argument.
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Tara Lazar,
on 7/10/2012
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STORYTELLER: The Authorized Biography of Roald Dahl by Donald Sturrock cannot be missed, yet for two years I missed it. What is wrong with me? (Eh-hem, this is a rhetorical question, thankyouverymuch.)
Roald Dahl remains one of the most iconic children’s authors of all time, yet he began his career writing macabre short stories based upon his experience in the Royal Air Force during World War II. Just how did he evolve into the fantastical children’s author we all love?
Sheila St. Lawrence, Dahl’s literary agent at the Watkins Agency, is to thank. She realized “the ease in which Dahl could enter a child’s mind,” clearly apparent in his short story “The Wish”. In the tale, a young boy dares to walk across a carpet by stepping only on its yellow portions. Should his foot slip onto another color, he thought he would “disappear into a black void or be killed by venomous snakes.” This story was the only adult Dahl piece to feature a child protagonist to date, and it could not escape St. Lawrence’s attention.
After a disastrous two-year foray into playwriting, St. Lawrence implored Dahl to turn his literary aspirations elsewhere. Yet he ignored her kidlit suggestion, wrote stories that got turned down by The New Yorker, and instead got placed in the far less desirable (but still paying) Playboy.
Dahl’s publisher Alfred Knopf expressed interest in a children’s book, but then dropped a collection of adult stories called “Kiss Kiss” from Knopf’s 1959 list. Dahl spouted some choice words in response, threatening that Knopf would never squeeze a children’s book out of him.
Dahl once again became focused on writing for actors, as he wished to develop vehicles for his wife at the time, screen star Patricia Neal. After all, if Neal was working steadily, her income afforded him more time to write what he wanted to write. There were shows for Hitchcock and a drama series for TV based upon classic ghost stories, produced by Alfred Knopf’s half brother. But when the pilot episode encountered a controversy, the series got permanently shelved and Dahl was forced to return to the idea that evolved into JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH.
I will say “and the rest is history” here, although STORYTELLER is only halfway through Dahl’s life story at this point. So like Sheila St. Lawrence, I implore you to turn your literary aspirations toward it.
But before I go, it would be a shame not to share with you Dahl’s advice to children’s writers, as told to Helen Edwards in an interview for Bedtime Stories exactly 42 years ago:
What makes a good children’s writer? The writer must have a genuine and powerful wish not only to entertain children, but to teach them the habit of reading…[He or she] must be a jokey sort of fellow…[and] must like simple tricks and jokes and riddles and other childish things. He must be unconventional and inventive. He must have a really first-class plot. He must know what enthralls children and what bores them. They love being spooked. They love ghosts. They love the finding of treasure. The love chocolates and toys and money. They love magic. They love being made to giggle. They love seeing the villain meet a grisly death. They love a hero and they love the hero to be a winner. But they hate descriptive passages and flowery prose. They hate long descriptions of any sort. Many of them are sensitive to good writing and can spot a clumsy sentence. They like stories that contain a threat. “D’you know what I feel like?” sai
By: Alice,
on 3/10/2012
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By Philip Furia
Next to George and Ira Gershwin, the only major fraternal songwriting team in the history of American popular music has been Robert and Richard Sherman. Together, the Sherman brothers wrote songs for such film musicals as Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Tom Sawyer, The Jungle Book, and The Aristocats. Richard Sherman composed the music for their songs, and both he and Robert wrote the lyrics.
Growing up in New York and then California, the boys were encouraged in their literary and artistic activities by their father, Al Sherman, a songwriter who had written such hits as “You Gotta Be a Football Hero.” The Sherman brothers had their first major success in 1960 with a rock ’n’ roll song, “You’re Sixteen (You’re Beautiful, and You’re Mine),” which Ringo Starr revived in 1974.
Walt Disney put them under contract to write songs for his studio’s films; the Sherman brothers were among the last songwriters in Hollywood to work exclusively for a single studio. Their most successful Disney film was Mary Poppins, which won an Oscar for best musical score and another for Best Song (“Chim Chim Cher—ee”). The most famous song from the film, however, is “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” which exhibited the brothers’ verbal inventiveness.
Walt Disney, a great storyteller himself, admired the Sherman brothers work because they wrote songs that were integrally tied to the story and characters of a musical. Their most famous song, however, was written as an independent number for the 1964 New York World’s Fair — “It’s a small world (after all).”
Robert Bernard Sherman was born in New York City on December 19, 1925. He spent his last years in London, where he died, at the age of eighty-six, on March 6, 2012.
Philip Furia is a professor in the Department of Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He is the author of The Songs of Hollywood with Laurie Patterson, Ira Gershwin: The Art of the Lyricist, and The Poets of Tin Pan Alley: A History of America’s Great Lyricists.
Last night, I went to
Touchstone Theatre's Christmas City Follies XII. This has become a Christmas tradition for my Mom, my sister, Christine, and I. Every year, we invite a different friend to join us and this year it was my co-worker and partner in crime (past), Suzanne.
The Follies are a Lehigh Valley tradition, a vaudevillian collection of comedy sketches, musical pieces and local lore lampooned. Every year, we wonder how they will top last year's production and every year the ensemble cast produces something wonderful. This is not a greeting card Christmas at all, but it feels oh-so-merry-and-bright.
And, what does this have to do with storytelling? Well,
Mary Wright is one of
The Follies cast members and she is also a super storyteller!
Mary is a tireless proponent of education through the arts, working with theater groups at area high schools, running storytelling and creative dramatic workshops and retreats. Besides all that, she is an all around nice person! She tells stories based on her own life, and the lives of her fore-mothers. She has developed story/theater pieces for arts organizations. She and Cora Hook, another local theater and storytelling star wrote produces and starred in
Two Cronies, a marvelous show on the women's coming of age through "the change".
Back to
The Follies - the show runs Thursday through Sunday until December 18th.
Get your tickets now!
by Melinda Palacio
Stella Pope Duarte
Author and storyteller Stella Pope Duarte knows how to spin a tale. Beyond her many books and awards, her generosity and faith set her apart from most writers. After several careers, mostly in education, she began writing in 1995 after she had a dream that her deceased father told her to follow her destiny and become a writer. Not only does she sit at home churning out compelling prose and metaphors, but she shares her gift by traveling across the country and teaching the craft of writing. She’s taught creative writing to all levels. “I’ve always been an educator,” she said. Her words of wisdom begin with changes she’s experienced from within.
“It was me I had to change. My stories began to teach me. What I really wanted was to be free and let my spirit develop.”
In our phone conversation, Stella Pope Duarte was inspiring and mesmerizing. She described being at a school carnival and being offered a bench to stand on. She stood on the bench, taking note of the kids laughing and eating cotton candy and enjoying the rides. When started to tell a story, the entire carnival froze. “It seemed like the swings stopped in mid air,” she said. She captures that same sense of wonder whenever she speaks or writes her stories. Her unassuming presence is hypnotic, and before you know it, you are listening to a master. Pick up any of her books and see for yourself: Let The Spirits Dance, Fragile Night, If I Die in Juárez (American Book Award 2009) or her short story collection, Women Who Live in Coffee Shops and Other Stories (Chicano/Latino Literary Prize winner 2008 University of California at Irvine. She is no stranger to La Bloga and has been featured in a spotlight and interview by Daniel Olivas in 2008.
Currently, Stella is venturing into poetry. With her poems, she composes quickly and with her eyes closed (something she doesn’t advise doing); the strategy works for her. “The more I get out of the way the better the poem.”
As a teacher, Stella is extremely generous and her best creative writing students often become part of her family. She offers a line-by-line critique and goes the extra mile for students she believes have the calling for storytelling. She strongly believes in the young writers she works with. Of her mentorship, Manuel Saldate, 28, writes:
“I stopped writing for a long while, but it was in Stella’s class that motivated and inspired me to continue writing. Her mentorship has helped me reflect more internally and not hold back in my writing and tell more meaningful stories with multi-layered characters. I chose her as a mentor because I admired her style as a writer, very true to who she is as an individual; honest and culturally aware. Too, she’s an amazing presenter and oral story
The organization of this blog continues. Today is Story (or Storyteller) Thursday. And on Thursdays, I will features a story, a storytelling activity or a storyteller.
Today's storyteller is
Kristin Pedemonti, an energetic, lively, big-hearted woman who is the founder of Literacy Outreach Belize. Since 2006, she has donated programs to 33,000 children in Belize and has spearheaded donations of funds and books to the more rural schools in this small Central American country.
Pedemonti's storytelling usually includes audience participation, with costumes, funny voices and even funnier faces. She is a joy to watch. She has a wonderful manner, handles outbursts from the sudience with humor and aplomb and ofter makes them part of her stories.
She's a globetrotter as well, performing all across Europe, the US and South America. In 2011 she won the coveted
National Storytelling Network International StoryBridge Oracle Award.
Check out
Kristin's website and visit her
fund-raising site to enable her to return to Belize and train more teachers and teens in storytelling and story creation skills.
by Dianne de Las Casas
Shhhh.
Now what did you hear when you read that word? Whose voice was it? Was it your mom’s voice? Was it your grandmother’s voice? Was it your own voice hushing your children? So much of our world operates in onomatopoeic sounds: the chirping of the morning birds, the beeping of the garbage truck, the roaring of a car engine, the screeching of the school bus as it comes to a stop…
As a professional storyteller, I actually become better at telling my stories by listening. It is through this simple auditory observation that I find inspiration for my tales. As a picture book author, I become better at writing by thinking of my story in terms of sound. How will this tale reverberate when it is read out loud?
The sound of a baby’s “Wah! Wah!” became a turning point in a recent story I revised. The sing-songy refrains that I have become known for in my books work better when they are released from the page through the read-aloud. In Denise Fleming’s picture book, In the Tall Tall Grass, you hear, “Crunch, munch. Caterpillars lunch.” The sounds become actions. The actions become story.
Watch little boys as they play with trucks and cars. They zoom and they vroom. Listen to preschoolers and kindergarteners make sound effects. Go the playground and take note. You’ll hear the clap clap clap of the girls’ hand games and the thump thump thump of a boys’ basketball game. Even the swingset makes a whooshing sound as the swings take flight.
Today, listen to the noise around you. Write down the sounds, even making them up if there is no known word for what you hear. The kerchink kerchink kerchink of the dryer could lead to a new picture book idea (but don’t you hate it when your family leaves stuff in their pockets?! LOL).
Even if you like to write in the quiet, today is the day to make some noise. Perhaps you will hum, echo, thud, crash, jingle, swish, or clatter your way into a new story.
Listen up. What do you hear?
Dianne is generously giving away a signed picture book to a lucky commenter. A winner will be randomly selected one week from today!
Dianne de Las Casas is an award-winning author of 18 books, a professonal storyteller, and founder of the international literacy initiative, Picture Book Month. She tours worldwide presenting revved-up author visit/storytelling programs, lively educator/librarian training, fun workshops, and inspiring artist residencies. Her children’s books include The Cajun Cornbread Boy, Madame Poulet & Monsieur Roach, Mama’s Bayou, The Gigantic Sweet Potato, There’s a Dragon in the Library, The House That Witchy Built, and Blue Frog: The Legend of Chocolate. She is a founding member of November’s Picture Book Month. Visit her at www.storyconnection.net and follow all the storytelling fun on Twitter @storyconnection.
10 Comments on PiBoIdMo Day 10: Listen Up Like Dianne de Las Casas (plus a giveaway!), last added: 11/10/2011
Last night, as my daughter-in-law lay counting her contractions, I thought I'd share the storyline of Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby. After all, in Icefall, the narrator, Princess Solveig, finds meaning in learning the role of storyteller, or skald. She uses her stories to calm angry warriors and soothe the sick. At one point, she tries to frighten her family's enemy with a story. How could I, a storyteller, not love this book?
My DIL asked me, "Are you still reading kids books?" I think, she meant, "Now that you are retired..." But kids' books are my passion. With books as well-written, exciting and, yes, even thoughtful, as Icefall, how could I not "still read kids' books"?
(BTW, my DIL, after 26 hours of labor, gave birth to the most perfect baby girl in the history of time - which is what I guess all grandmothers have said throughout the history of time. THEY were all wrong.)
I forgot to take my camera to the hospital today so I cannot prove to you how perfect my new granddaughter is. So here is the cover of
Icefall, as a poor substitute.
Here is a little more about the book. Solveig has been sent with her older sister, Princess Asa, and her younger brother, Crown Prince Harald, along with a handful of retainers and warriors to an isolated holding at the end of a fjord to wait out their father's most recent war. Winter freezes them in. A company of berserkers and their father's
skald or court storyteller, soon joins them. And then treachery strikes. Who among them is the traitor? Will they survive the winter? Sprinkled with Norse mythology throughout, this is an exciting, well-written novel for middle school age and up.
Rukhsana K’han was a speaker at the Sunday luncheon at the summer SCBWI Conference in LA, where she accepted the Golden Kite Award. She is an excellent speaker and kept everyone riveted to her every word and laughing at her humor. In the last few years New Jersey has added quite a few Middle Eastern members and most have been asking me questions on what steps they should take to get published. I figured Rukhsana would have the answer so I called her and she said she would be happy to write something for my blog. It appears we can all learn something from her post.
Here is what she shared:
When Kathy Temean, the SCBWI Regional Advisor for New Jersey contacted me about writing a guest blog post about what it was like to write Muslim stories I thought it would be a great idea!
I’ve been writing seriously for over twenty-two years now, and coming from a Muslim perspective there are certain lessons I’ve learned that I can definitely share!
But these aren’t just lessons about writing from a Muslim perspective. These are lessons that anyone writing about any culture can benefit from!
In writing this blog post, I’ve combined ideas I elucidated in my speech “Writing about Other Cultures” . I’ve given this speech a couple of times now, the last time being at the SCBWI convention in L.A. just last August while I was there to accept my Golden Kite Award for my picture book Big Red Lollipop.
So here goes!
Ms. Temean said:
I am getting a lot of questions about where to submit or what publishers would be interested in Muslim stories.
This question’s easy! Any publisher that says they’re accepting multicultural stories will be interested in Muslim stories, and that would be most publishers—as long as the story’s GOOD!
What makes a story good? Interesting characters, interesting predicaments, a fresh and interesting voice that tells the story! In fact the very same ingredients that make ANY story good will make a Muslim story good!
It is extremely tempting to read a Muslim/multicultural children’s story and think, “I could write that!” Especially if the story’s not that well written.
Many beginning authors compare their writing to the worst out there. Thinking if *that* could get published, then surely the publishers will jump at my story! But that’s the wrong attitude to have.
You need to compare your work to the *best* that’s out there not the worst because the worst probably got published at a time when there were no other choices available in terms of Muslim/multicultural stories.
It might have been marketable then, but it isn’t now.
As for publishers who accept stories about Muslims, if you want some more specific suggestions check out the Muslim booklist that I mention below. Look at the publishers who’ve published these books, they’re a good place to start submitting.
The children’s field has gotten a LOT tougher in terms of quality and there are a LOT of good Muslim writers out there now, which brings me to the next point that Ms. Temean raised:
These writers feel there is a hole in the children’s market for stories for and about Muslim children.
Actually that’s not as true as it once was.
In fact I made it my business to prepare a Muslim children’s booklist on my website (that I’m constantly updating) where I’ve listed books being published by mainstream publishers, about Muslim and related cultural themes. You can find it here: http://www.rukhsanakhan.com/muslimbooklist/Muslimbooklist.pdf
I am constantly
Hi Janis, would you like to tell us a bit about yourself.
Hello. I am from Edinburgh, live now in Caithness in the far north in a house next to the beach and have always, in different ways, worked with words. I was a journalist but soon realised that didn’t match the dream I nurtured of ‘being a writer.’ I did the travelling thing – wonderful adventures in Greece, Turkey, Israel and working on a yacht on the Mediterranean. I studied speech and drama, specialised in voice work and taught for a good while. Immersing myself in other people’s words was an excellent apprenticeship. I also became involved with the world of storytelling – so poetry, drama, stories – and speaking poetry, feeling the sounds and rhythms, aiming to bring the images in poems and stories to life – that has been my work for twenty years. I also took an MA in creative writing and personal development from the University of Sussex. I am also lucky to come from an artistic family. My aunt Helen started the Craigmillar Festival Society and as I was growing up that, and the annual inspiration of the Edinburgh Festival, all showed me that creativity and art helps set people free. I live with my lovely partner, our dog Flora and clucking hens.
There has always been something unusual about Magnus Fin, the school misfit. On his eleventh birthday Magnus throws a message in a bottle out to sea, wishing for a best friend and to be more brave -- and he gets a lot more than he bargained for. Magnus discovers that he is half selkie -- part seal, part human -- and his selkie family urgently need his help.
Can Magnus save his new-found family from the evil force threatening all the ocean’s creatures? And will he find the friend he has always dreamed of?
You recently won the Kelpies Prize 2009 for your novel Magnus Fin and the Ocean Quest and the announcement was made at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. How did it feel to win and can you tell us a little more about the competition?It was of course wonderful to win – and nerve racking. I had a feeling I would win but of course you want to prepare yourself for not winning – so by the time Joan Lingaard
announced the winner I was ready to fall on the floor. I had recently come second in a short story competition, and was a runner up in the Mslexia poetry competition – so thought I’d be second again.
The competition runs every year and is for a novel for children aged 8 – 12, set in Scotland. I had written a story inspired by the sea and sent it to
Hi-Arts for a critique (a fabulous free service for writers in the highlands) – and back came the critique with helpful suggestions, the last of which was, double the length then send this story to the Kelpies Prize! I did!
There's still time to enter this year's competition. Follow the link for more details.
Let me begin with a brief explanation? While the focus of this article is on the art of oral storytelling it may well offer food for thought to writers as well. It is not based on the assumption that you’ve lost your voice and are in need of finding it via some miraculous cure (be it gargling with vegemite if you’re an Australian or eating more kiwi fruit if you’re a New Zealander!). Nor will it touch on the mechanics of clear speech or the correct use of your diaphragm. I’ll leave that to a therapist or Alexander Technique practitioner.
I want to focus on a unique aspect of YOU that emerges from deep within and grows along with you in tune with your life experiences, personality traits and innate and learned reactions to situations - your voice!
It is an expression of YOU that is uniquely yours - and I suggest applies to both your spoken and written word.
Despite the number of people there are in the world, your voices is rarely so similar that someone would confuse you for someone else. So what if your style is or isn't dramatic. Maybe it's soft-spoken. Or direct. Casual, or formal. It is uniquely you.
Not long ago I visited my mother in hospital. One of the nurses kindly assisted me by pushing my wheelchair into my mother’s room. As we went she was struck by my likeness to my sister and she began: ‘Oh, aren’t you exactly like your sister: same face, same eyes, same hair (Yes, we both had curly hair but last time I looked hers was dark and mine was red!) - and exactly the same voice!’
I nearly choked. After the nurse had left the room my mother wryly observed: ‘That was a bit over the top, wasn’t it?’
To which I replied: ‘Oh! Didn’t you realise the main reason I use a wheelchair is so that you are able to tell your daughters apart?’
* * * * *
Each of us has a distinctive voice not just the physical mechanism of voice production but the way our voice is integrated with who we are in the deepest sense of the word.
How does this impact on your storytelling voice?
Your experience. Your personality. Your emotions. Your vocabulary and turn of phrase are uniquely yours. These are the special elements you bring to story telling. No two people can tell the same story (anymore than you can tell a story the same way on separate occasions - unless you’ve allowed the story to become a recitation rather than a telling.). Each of us will come at the same topic from different backgrounds, experience and personalities. As you pour yourself, your soul, into a story it sparkles with the freshness and originality that is YOU.
A storyteller’s voice is something that is unique to a particular teller - a way of phrasing and relating thoughts and events that comes with time, practice and experience. The more you TELL the stronger it gets. You can't force it. You have to let it grow as you write. Sometimes you don't even know what it is yourself - until others say you've got it!
This is not to say you cannot learn from others. From earliest childhood we are captivated by the sounds of the human voice telling a story. Children are past master at trying out the voice patterns and rhythms around them and equally adept at discarding what doesn’t fit or adapting that which matches the ‘who’ they are. I’m not suggesting the process is a self conscious act but rather part of their being and becoming.
In the same way, as storytellers, at any given point in our development, we too are in process of being and becoming. Human beings have been telling stories since the dawn of language. Evidence points to narrative as the way the human brain is wired. We learn by making sense of the world through the stories we hear and those we tell ourselves. If we aspire to share stories beyond the dining room table or backyard barbecue, we need to grow our skills and develop a storytelling voice that commands attention in a roomful of strangers.
Let’s begin:
Find voice models from real life. Listen to the way people around you speak. Pick out specific characteristics that will work for your voice. Another good place to search for or further develop your story telling voice is to listen to others telling stories—whether they be storytellers per se or preachers, salesmen, auctioneers; whether they are heard live or recorded. I have learnt a lot from listening to stories I already know, retold on storytellernet at http://www.storyteller.net/stories/audio
Listen to your favourite tellers. Each of us has tellers we admire for their unique distinctive voices. As you listen, let yourself hear each powerful and distinct voice in the silence of your mind. Model aloud specific phrases used by another teller and practice ways to make the content your own. Change an inflection, use a word that fits better your normal vocabulary, try different postures as you speak. Reflect on the ways you use your body and voice - when you are talking quietly, making a point (in conversation), when you’re angry, upset, excited etc. You already have a voice with nuances, tone, pitch, pace in your vocal repertoire. Don’t be afraid to experiment but always check that in the end the voice you use is still yours.
I remember being asked to perform at a Ghost Concert in a park one night. I worked up a story that included a segment from ‘The Piper’s Revenge’. During my practice sessions, as the woman enters the cowshed and sees the piper’s boots at the head of the big black cow, and believing the cow has eaten the piper, I produced her terrible scream!
Now, screaming is not normally part of my vocal repertoire. I’m much more likely to freeze - physically and verbally. Nonetheless, throughout rehearsals I continued with my scream! Fortunately, something about that scream must have niggled deep inside me, for minutes before I left home I had an uncomfortable feeling about that scream. As there was no-one from whom I could seek advice at this stage, I hastily switched on my player/recorder and did a quick sound check. Am I glad I did!. It sounded AWFUL - and I swapped that scream for a trembling moan. Phew! I had an immediate sense that the story was now mine.
Let story become part of your life. You'll find yourself spontaneously rehearsing ways to say things. Save the ways that you felt good about.
Embark on journey of self discovery, self expression, healing and joy.
To take this issue to a deeper level, we need to back up and consider why you desire a storytelling voice. Storytelling connects people - it builds community among those who have something in common - stories! Some will tell in public places; some will share a story in private; some will enjoy stories in the listening.
To develop a storytelling voice you have to care about something. Ask yourself: What is it about storytelling that I care about most? Don’t try be too specific in your answer .Your interests and identity can only be discovered as your voice starts to grow.
Caring about something is an important starting point. It's not just being against something, and it's not just wanting to have a community. It means having values that make the world make sense. Once you know what you care about, then you can hunt for a community. Maybe that community already exists, or maybe you have to build it. The point is that your voice is not just your own voice -- it is also the voice of a community.
Whatever you care about, no matter how personal it may feel, there will be others who care about it too - whether it’s saving the white rhino, connecting with street kids, working with refugees or establishing links with older people - our job is to imagine that community of practice out there, its members all thinking together, however quietly, about the topic that most concerns you. Your community needs a language, it needs an association, it needs a clubhouse, and it needs a voice. Your voice. That's how it works.
The stories you tell need to be true to your own experience and values while respecting the needs and expectations of your audience. I’ve heard story practitioners insist: ‘Tell the stories you love.’ I’m not convinced this is the first commandment. As a storyteller, I am often asked to tell a story that fits a specific audience or theme - or even asked to tell a particular story.
Unless the story or theme contradicts ‘who I am as a person’ or what I believe, the act of working on the story and making it my own creates such a dynamic between me and the story that I only discover my love for it in the process.
I remember being asked to tell a story from a blind person’s point of view. I thought about being blind. I tried to imagine what it might be like to be blind. I knew it wasn’t enough - it didn’t feel real. I went down to the park nearby my home and sat with my eyes closed for two hours. It proved quite difficult at times - but I was determined. I listened to the noises around me and tried to interpret them; I let leaves brush against my face and insects crawl up my legs. When a dog licked my face - the unexpectedness of it almost forced me back to my safe ‘seeing’ world.
But after that experience, retelling stories like Six Blind Men and the Elephant (a fable from India retold by Karen Blackstein, 1992) or The Blind Man and the Hunter (a folktale from West Africa) or the gospel story in Mark 10:46-52 of Blind Bartemaeus - is magic. I had found a voice with which I could be comfortable - real and spontaneous.. Not that those stories are now fixed—they continue to grow with me in each retelling.
Although a story needs a shape that begins with a setting and a problem that moves to a satisfying ending, a story is essentially about a character. To tell a story well I need to get to know the character(s) and somehow meld the character’s voice with my own
.
Consider the story of The Drover’s Wife by Henry Lawson. The story depicts a pioneer woman living on a farm in outback New South Wales who has just spent a night protecting her children from a snake that had slithered between the planks of her slab house. Times are tough, she has three children to care for. Her husband has gone droving to bring in some money to keep them going - but all she wants is to move into town. Starved for adult conversation, she pours out to a perfect stranger, all her fears, dreams and frustrations.
How do I retell that story? In my mind, I ‘sit’ with that woman and try to build connections between her situation and my experiences. Perhaps, I recall the snake that curled itself under the tap of the rainwater tank by the shed and prevented me getting a bucker of water for the garden. I think of a time I felt so isolated I shared something personal with a stranger. I remember how stressed I became the day one of my children became ill and the telephone was out of order. Then there was the period after Cyclone Tracy when I’d had enough! All I wanted was out of the situation I was in.
Now as I contemplate the story, the drover’s wife’s voice comes to me. And somehow it IS my voice!
Telling personal stories opens a need for a special voice for telling
What stories can I tell? Try listing the defining moments of your life. Any special lessons or experiences that profoundly affected you? For example: learning how to ride a bike, moving to a different city, taking on a new job, becoming a parent.
Can you find the extraordinary in the ordinary? You won’t inspire an audience if you live a negative life. Uncover the joys, triumphs or exciting moments and bring them to life for yourself and your audience! What is your philosophy? By what values do you live your life? What makes you laugh? Share your favourite sources of humour. What makes you angry? Share how you would change the world for the better if you could.
Finding the voice to tell personal stories can be a demanding task. Light-hearted episodes where the main purpose in the telling is to entertain an audience present few difficulties. But for personal stories which hold or, have in the past, held an emotional depth, it is wise to review the story carefully and ask yourself: Is this story ready to tell? Have I worked through the issues it raises? Can I identify the universal themes that are likely to resonate with my listeners? Does the story offer a fresh perspective or new angle on the issues raised? Will their be that sigh factor where, at the end, you almost feel listeners exhale a deep satisfying ah?
If a personal story stirs within you the pain/distress/anger it held when you first encountered the experience, it is probably not ready to tell. Story telling should not be an opportunity to engage in personal therapy. Respect your audience. Remember, that in a storytelling situation, our stories are a gift to those who listen (or read).
As a listener to (or reader of) a story, it is the story I want to hear - and I want to hear it in your storyteller’s voice . I want to learn from the story. I want to take the STORY, not the teller’s pain, home with me.
As you prepare a personal story find that which speaks to the healthy parts of your inner being without pushing the buttons of the other parts. Steer clear of those parts focused on … propaganda … wounds … acting out a trauma.
* * * * *
So, where will you find your stories? What do you have to say? How will you find your unique storytelling voice? Thomas Boomershine (1992, 19) in his book Story Journey tells us ‘the stories you remember and tell others become the best gifts you have to give. They become yours in a special way. People become the stories they love to tell.’
As to your storytelling voice, remember it is yours to grow. In My Voice will Go with You: the teaching tales of Milton Erickson edited by Sidney Rosen (1982, 187), Erickson tells how he sent one of his patients to sit on the lawn until he made a fantastic discovery. After about an hour his patient came dashing in and said, ‘Do you realise that every blade of grass is a different shade of green?’
Your task: Challenge yourself and discover your storytelling (or writing) voice!
Greetings! I look forward to sharing with you on Tuesday evening October 29, 2008, at 8pm. The focus topic on this pod cast of Storytelling With Children is “Breaking Barriers Through Storytelling”.
My introduction to literature and the planting of seeds that later bloomed into storytelling, came in the 1950’s. In the midst of a social, political and cultural climate that suggested that my family and community were devoid of intellect, history or culture, my father began reading to me the literary diamonds and jewels that came from within our culture. Somewhere around 6 years old, my father read out loud the words of James Weldon Johnson, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Gwendolyn Brooks and Langston Hughes. My father relished and touted the genius of these writers. He handed me the Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar, selected a poem for me to memorize and launched me, as a child, onto a spoken word path. Numerous church banquets, teas and special community events were staging grounds for “a reading by Miss Charlotte Blake”.
I’ll share some memories of that time and fast-forward to the place where those germinating seeds and my experience in an independent school crossed paths with storytelling and an immediate realization of the power of this art form. On I faculty of 70, I was one of three faculty members of color. One particular event at the school served as a reminder of how invisible we often were, of how a genuinely well-meaning (and I really mean that!) community could unknowingly participate in perpetuating stereotypes and marginalizing members of their community. My concern was the statement those actions made to the children in the community. When I encountered storytelling, I immediately saw it as a window, a bridge, a tool I could use; a way in which initially children, could access, affirm, value and appreciate a cultural perspective that was different from their own.
That two-story repertoire (plus a set of Kiddie Rock& Roll songs!) later expanded to incorporate stories for all ages. I’ve since told at home and abroad in schools, festivals, concert halls, detention centers, a refugee camp; in collaboration with jazz musicians, choreographers and symphony orchestras. One of my most storyteller-reaffirming moments happened in a refugee camp in northern Senegal. So come on in! It’s okay. This will not be psychologically heavy duty! I am not an academician. This will be a chance to peek inside my head, listen to my heart and perhaps hear a perspective, a view that might serve you well in your own work.
“See you” on the pod cast.
Congratulations to Katie (not sure where she's from!) for winning the February Drawing Drawing! She'll be sending her address shortly, but in the meantime she says she can type and eat marshmallows at the same time.
Thanks to everyone who entered!
And remember, if you're in the Canton, NY area tomorrow I'll be reading and signing books at the Brewer Bookstore at 1:00. See you then!
Your bud,
Maxwell
Hey you!
Stop on by the Brewer Bookstore in Canton, NY (home of my alma mater, St. Lawrence University, mwepp mwepp mwepp) this Sunday, March 2 at 1:00.
I'll be there to read some Max and Pinky stories, sign some books and answer any questions you may have...
Your bud,
Maxwell
I have two more signings coming up for Merry Christmas, Cheeps. The first is tomorrow, Saturday, December 8th at the Barnes & Noble at the Waterfront in Pittsburgh, PA from 11 to noon. I'll be doing a story time with Judy Press, a good buddy and fellow local children's book author. She's promoting
Big Fun Christmas Crafts and Activities (Williamson) which features literally hundreds of easy, attractive holiday projects to do with your kids. We'll read the Cheeps book (with props and
maybe a little singing) and Judy has a paper bag snowman project for kids to do. There will also be treats in the children's area. I think the store also has copies of other titles by me and Judy, and we'd be happy to sign those too.
Then next weekend (December 15th), I'll be joining Judy and lots of other Pittsburgh authors and illustrators at Joseph-Beth, Southside, for a benefit for one of my favorite nonprofits, Beginning with Books, whose mission is to help all children become capable and enthusiastic lifelong readers. There will be authors there signing, reading, and even wrapping the gifts you choose from noon to six. My shift is from 2 to 4, but I'm going to try to hang around later as a wrapper. A portion of the sales will go to Beginning with Books, and I think you can also purchase books for them to donate to needy kids.
Thanks to my Cheeps author, Julie Stiegemeyer, and her experience at a signing in Fort Wayne, IN last night, I now know one more thing to be prepared for at the upcoming signings: gorillas in Santa hats who scare little tykes. You can read about her author adventure on her blog.
Grab some buddies and shuffle on over!
Who: You, of course, and Julie Stiegemeyer, author, and me, Carol Baicker-McKee, illustrator
What: A book signing/holiday book fair for Merry Christmas, Cheeps!
When: From 11 to noon on Saturday, November 17, 2007. (I'll actually be there a bit earlier, around 10:30).
Where: The Barnes & Noble at South Hills Village Mall, Pittsburgh PA
Why: Because it will be fun! Plus it's a good chance to acquire a special book for a gift or for your own holiday collection.
Please join us!
Last week I talked about my upcoming Mesa, Arizona booksigning with Janette Rallison. Here’s the follow-up, complete with a few pictures.
Janette lives in the Phoenix area, and I had the pleasure of meeting many of the people in her life. She joked it was like attending her own funeral-- to which I must add that if her funeral ends up being as much fun as this signing, it’s well-worth it to outlive her and attend! :) In addition, we got to meet some teens, teachers, librarians, writers, industry professionals and random shoppers, all who were warm and fun and contributed to a lovely evening.
When the event was over, exhausted and elated, Janette and I clowned around in front of the two-sided sign that the marvelous events manager, Donna Power, had provided for us. Here we are, posing with the side that bore my name:
And now, speaking of good times, have you been over to Stephanie Hale’s MySpace site (www.myspace.com/stephhale) to cast your vote on who should win the Dooney and Bourke bag? If not, walk, don’t run!
Tina
Tina Ferraro
Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress
How to Hook a Hottie, January, 2008
The ABC’s of Kissing Boys, Spring, 2009
www.tinaferraro.com
My latest picture book was officially released yesterday: A Box Full of Kittens by Sonia Manzano. You may also know Sonia as Maria from Sesame Street. That's right, Sesame Street. Being a first generation Sesame Street kid, the thrill of illustrating this book was immense. And now I get to meet her in person. And so can you if you live anywhere near the Big Apple. Stop by Books of Wonder at noon on Sunday, June 10th, and get your book signed by both of us. Plus, there will be cupcakes! I'm also hoping that Grover shows up...
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Wow. I got chills just thinking about how The Book Thief would change without Death as the narrator. Death gives the story that epic weight. And Hunger Games would lose the knife edge of desperation. Great thoughts. Now I really need to think carefully as I continue my novel. I need the three voices to tell the whole story. I was just going to go with one, then changed my mind and decided to go with two. But something was missing–hence the addition of the third voice. Together they tell the story.
L. Marie, I also have three voices in my WIP. But I’m starting to wonder if it’s too many. It’s an important decision!