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Volume 4, Issue 1 - 10 January 2007
Brought to you by Aneeta Sundararaj
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Do you
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CONTENTS
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From the Editor's Desk
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StoryAsia -
Writing your business plan is actually storytelling
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Storyteller's Nuts and Bolts - The Character Next Door
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Jack's Fables -
Absent Friends.
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Infosynthesis - Supercharge your business this year with
storytelling
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Blow Your Own Trumpet! - Interviews with
Rob Parnell, Karl Moore and Eric
Forbes
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Articles For Storytellers - “Go Away!” the Storyteller said.
.
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1000 Reviews -
Vasthu Sastra Guide by T. Selva
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from the editor's desk ...
Dear [First Name],
Happy New Year!
Over the holidays an earthquake struck Taiwan and as a result, the
internet connections all across the South East Asian region were
affected. Fortunately, I had already uploaded all of the articles and
other resources onto the website. This means there are now over 500
articles in our database of articles and more resources in terms of
books, freebies and websites listed.
Steve Robertson offers his newest book, The Stream, for this
edition's contest. Click on the link under contests for our subscribers
and you can enter this contest.
With the year just starting and all, I did not expect to have interviews
ready to be posted. However, the people I interviewed cooperated and I
am pleased to say, the interviews with Rob Parnell, Karl Moore and Eric
Forbes are up on the site. If you were to read them in sequence, you'll
find them so varied in style and content. I hope you enjoy the stories
these men share.
There are the usual stories/pieces from our columnists in StoryAsia,
Jack's Fables and Storytellers Nuts and Bolts. Also, since it's the new
year, StoryAsia, the prompt and the article published herein are meant
to encourage you to achieve all of your storytelling goals.
Please take a moment to read the message from our sponsor for this
edition of the newsletter, StoryGold.com ... especially if you're into
writing stories for children.
I end this first edition of our newsletter with a hope that you will
achieve all of your storytelling goals this year.
Here's to your storytelling success.
Aneeta Sundararaj
editor@howtotellagreatstory.com
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VISIT OUR BLOG
Check
out "The Candid Internet Storyteller" blog with Aneeta Sundararaj at:
http://howtotellagreatstory.blogspot.com/
In this blog, Aneeta Sundararaj regularly shares methods,
techniques, tips and ideas to help you master storytelling and the art
of conversation
Go
to:
http://howtotellagreatstory.blogspot.com/
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HAND MADE CARDS USING BATIK
Would you like to make your messages or even poetry presented
exquisitely?
Why not consider using our hand-made cards using batik?
Click on this page:
http://www.batikforbeginners.com/sales/offers.html
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INFOSYNTEHSIS
Supercharge your business this year with storytelling
Happy New Year! But
how happy can you really be this year without telling your
stories? Have you really considered what will make you happy and
increase your business in 2007? Try storytelling.
Every professional
and businessperson has an audience waiting to hear your stories
to promote their relationships with you (patronage, loyalty,
understanding, etc.) Tell your value stories; your business
stories; your corporate stories; your relationship and romantic
stories; your organizational stories; your success stories; your
painful stories; your vision and mission stories; your process
stories; how you work, and how you operate. If you do so, you
will enlarge your professional space and do more business.
To read more,
please click here ...
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STORYASIA
Writing your business plan is actually storytelling
[Adapted from How To Tell A Great Story (7th
Edition)]
It is often said that the most important part of
your entire business plan is the Executive Summary. Still, if that is so, then
it is even more important for you to get it right from the start. But really,
how do you this? How much information do you give in this Executive Summary? How
much do you leave out? What do you concentrate on? Is it the description of the
product itself? But if you concentrate on the product, then how do you keep it
to only three pages when there is so much more to say about the history of the
company, the people who run it and the financial status of the company? What
about the dreams and aspirations of the company? How really can it all be said
in just three pages?
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Jack's Fables
Absent Friends
Popular TV duo, Rant & Cheque apologised to fans
last night after missing the show ‘This is Your Life’ made about them and in
their honour.
‘We were unfortunately filming our next series,
Celebrity Padded Cell, and only found out about This Is Your Life when a
man cloned from Eamonn Andrews’s stem cells leapt out of the curtains.’
R & C’s agent justified their actions by adding:
‘The show must go on only applies to anything with
a genuine Rant & Cheque logo, so they had to send the warm-up act, Pass & Move
instead. Still, it keeps the public guessing doesn’t it, and Rant & Cheque can
always appear again next year.’
To read more,
please click here ...
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Storytelling Nuts and Bolts
The Character Next
Door
© Kristy
Taylor 2006
So you
finally have the time to finish that story. Your outline touches on
every aspect of the plot. You’ve made it the best that it can be. You’re
sure your efforts have the right mix of suspense, humor, clarity and
originality.
All of
that is necessary, but what about connecting with your readers? Fiction
writing isn’t the same as weaving fairy tales or campfire stories; you
don’t have the added benefit of using physical animation. You need to
grab your readers’ attention with your words only. And the best way to
do this is to keep your readers’ interest with characters that are worth
caring about... just like the character next door
To read more,
please
click here ...
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PROMPTS TO TELL YOUR GREAT STORY
...
Like most people, there must be something that you worry about
immensely. For example, the question you may be asking yourself is
this: Am I going to become a successful storyteller this year? Well,
buy yourself a journal. One the first page, prepare a plan of action
for the next 12 months. Thereafter, each day, make it a point to
write something about this dream of yours. It need not be much. Even
a single paragraph will do.
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BLOW YOUR OWN TRUMPET!
Easy Writing - interview with Rob Parnell
Excerpts ...
Aneeta: Now, I’ve read about your ebook, The Easy Way to Write a Novel in
30 Days or Less, from your website,
http://easywaytowrite.com. My questions are these:
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Is
it really possible to write a novel in 30 days?
Rob: It was
taking part in the Nanowrimo challenge for a couple of years in a row that
made me realize that yes, it was possible to write the first draft of a novel in
30 days. I’m not saying it’s automatically easy but it can be, if you have the
right mindset, which is why my book spends its first half tackling just that
issue.
Most novice writers
have this idea that writing should be hard, that every word should be wrenched
from deep within – and is sacred once it’s on the page. This is the kind of
thinking that needs to be dismantled if you want to write for a living. Working
writers know that words are just tools to help communicate your vision
to everyone else.
...
To read more,
please
click here ...
Midnight Man - interview with Karl Moore
Excerpts ...
Aneeta:
Firstly, rescue me from confusion. Are you Karl or Karlos?
Karl: Well,
it’s officially Karl. But when I’m feeling friendly, I sign my e-mail messages
Karlos. It’s the Germanic vs Spanish approach.
Aneeta: So
were you brought up in Germany?
Karl: Uhm.
No.
Aneeta:
Spain?
Karl: Again,
that would be no. But I once went on holiday to Majorca.
...
To read more,
please
click here ...
Forbes List - interview with Eric Forbes
Excerpts ...
Aneeta: Yes, I can quite believe
you do enjoy what you do for a living. Eric, why do you read?
Eric: Why read? Yes, why read?
I’m often asked this question. I come alive when I read the really good stuff. I
read because I have no choice, really. Was it not Gustave Flaubert who once said
that reading is like falling into a deep ravine from which you can never, ever
climb out? Moreover, I like to know about the world around me, I like to learn
about stuff, and good books are the best way to do this. When you add to this a
predilection for interesting prose styles and an interest in the human
condition, what else can I do but read? Most of us lead sheltered lives, but
books transport us to worlds we never knew existed. With books, we go
everywhere. There’re lots of lessons we can learn from a lifetime of reading.
Fiction opens up our emotional spectrum and makes us aware of emotions we didn’t
know we had in us. It grips and engages us with the questions it asks, the
people and situations it creates, the complexity of emotions it stirs. A world
without books, I think, is unbearable.
...
To read more,
please
click here ...
If you'd like to be interviewed for this column, please
contact me at
editor howtotellagreatstory.com
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ARTICLES FOR STORYTELLERS
“Go Away!” the Storyteller said.
The questions we, as storytellers, ask ourselves can drive
even the sanest of men mad. The ‘person’ who asks these questions is often
called the ‘inner critic’. While the inner critic is crucial to any form of
storytelling, listening too much to this person’s ‘words of advice’ can inhibit
a storyteller’s success. The following is a conversation between a storyteller
and his inner critic that shows a storyteller how to shut his inner critic up.
Inner critic: You just can’t tell a story.
Storyteller: What do you mean I can’t tell a story?
Inner critic: Well, look at you. I’m telling you, you can’t
tell a story.
Storyteller: Well, maybe I can’t. Then again, maybe I can.
I’ll never really know unless you let me try. That’s the only way we’ll both
find out.
Inner critic: Who do you think you are? Some fancy
storyteller like Hans Christian Anderson? Do you know how many storytellers end
up really poor?
Storyteller: Do you know how many storytellers have
followed their dreams and ended up being filthy rich?
Inner critic: Still, my job is to warn you about the
pitfalls of storytelling. What if you make a fool of yourself? What if you
forget to describe an important character? What if nobody laughs? Will you be
able to look at yourself in the mirror the day after?
Storyteller: Let me tell you something. Here’s what I’m
going to do. I’m gong to pick up the newspaper and look for a picture of the
most horrible criminal alive today. Then I’m going to say that you are that
person. I’ll stick this picture up on my wall and every single time you say
something nasty to me, I’m going to look you in the eye and tell you, “I am
going to tell my story.”
Inner critic: You just try it. What do you know? That’s
just a picture. I still have my voice and my voice will be louder than yours
when I tell you, you can’t tell a proper story.
Storyteller: Oh, well. I’ll just turn your picture over
then. You know how they say, “Out of sight, out of mind.”
Inner critic: That’s it. That’s what I mean. You just
ignore my advice and carry on as if nothing I say matters. You have to listen to
me. For you own good. You just have to.
Storyteller: Don’t you throw a tantrum. You’re just like a
child.
Inner critic: I’m not a child! I am trying to warn you
about a potential case of having egg on your face when you tell your story.
Storyteller: O.K. Let’s make a deal.
Inner critic: A deal? What sort of deal?
Storyteller: It’s like this. You stop talking for at least
1 hour. Let me write down my story during this 1 hour. When I’m done, you can
tell me what you think and I’ll listen. How about that?
Inner critic: Can you write your whole story in 1 hour?
See, I told you you’d fail. You can’t even finish the story …
Storyteller: Hold it! I never said I was going to write the
whole story in 1 hour. I want to spend 1 hour writing a story. I don’t know if
I’ll complete this story or not. But, I do know that I will try.
Inner critic: Oh.
Storyteller: Well? What do you think? Do we have a deal?
Inner critic: What choice do I have? I suppose I will have
to agree.
Storyteller: Great! Now, I can get back to my story?
Inner critic: But, I tell you, you can’t write.
Storyteller: Oh, just go away, will you.
Aneeta
Sundararaj is the editor-in-chief of ‘How To Tell A Great Story’ (www.howtotellagreatstory.com).
She has written for many online resources and manages to popular ezine, Great
StoryTelling Network!. If you'd like some advice or just comfort as you learn
the process of storytelling, you can contact Aneeta by visiting her site,
http://www.howtotellagreatstory.com
If you would like to submit your own article on storytelling,
please click here...
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1000 Reviews
Vashtu Sastra Guide by T. Selva
Excerpts ...
Vasthu Sastra Guide
is a non-fiction piece of work. In the author’s own
words:
Although the awareness of Vasthu Sastra is increasing
daily worldwide, I found that many people lacked
understanding of the effective application of Vasthu
Sastra rules on their properties. This prompted me to
write this book to enhance the understanding of Vasthu
Sastra. … My purpose in writing this book is to share my
discoveries and knowledge of this science with people
interested in harmony and peace of mind.
The topic in question is Vasthu Sastra and for those who
do not know what it is the author has provided a simple
definition of this term – ‘vasthu’ means a habitat and
‘sastra’ means science. Indeed, Mr. Selva states,
‘Vasthu is not magic, superstition, a religion or
religious ritual, and does not work on a belief system.
It is also not a question of faith but a fact of life.’
To read more, please
click here
If you would like to submit your own review,
please click here...
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RESOURCES FOR STORYTELLERS...
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FREE CONTENT FOR YOUR WEB SITE OR E-ZINE
Need
some fresh, free content for your web site or e-zine?
Visit the following webpage and you'll
see links to articles you can reprint for free.
We
simply ask that you let us know where the article will be appearing, and
include our byline.
http://www.howtotellagreatstory.com/ezine/index.html
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WEBPAGES FOR STORYTELLERS
Merlyn Swan:
http://www.howtotellagreatstory.com/webpages/merlynswan.html
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D.Devika Bai
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TELL EVERYONE ABOUT ...
International World Heritage Conference
March 25 - 29th, 2007 Vancouver, B.C. Canada
Sponsored by The National Association for Interpreters
www.interpnet.com/iwh
NEGS Charity Project
For the last
eleven years NEGS (New England Girls’ School) students have participated
in a community service project that involves the collection of used
postage stamps. The stamps are sent to a charity in Sydney who sell
them.
Christmas is an
ideal time to collect used stamps from your Christmas cards. If you
would like to help, please place your used envelopes in a clean plastic
bag and return them to the address stated below.
NEGS Stamp Project
C/- Mrs Kate
Blackmore
Maths & Technology
Department
New England Girls’
School
Uralla Road
Armidale NSW
2350
Australia
Please do NOT cut
or soak the postage stamps off the paper, as they are more valuable on a
full-sized envelope.
The First-Time
Writers & Illustrators Publishing Initiative enters its second edition
with an expanded scope following the success of its launch last year.
Opening up more opportunities for aspiring writers and illustrators to
get their works published, a new category, Comics and Graphic Novels,
has been included in addition to Children’s Books
For more information, log on to
www.bookcouncil.sg
How are people going to know about your great storytelling
resources if you don't tell them? Here's your chance - Send info about
your stuff and we'll post it here for free. Please keep the number of
words to no more than 125. Send an email to
editor@howtotellagreatstory.com
with 'Tell Everyone About ...' in the subject line.
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