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Volume 3, Issue 11 - 31 May 2006
Brought to you by Aneeta Sundararaj and Eric Okeke
For the online version of this newsletter, please click
on this link:
http://www.howtotellagreatstory.com/gsn/31052006.html
To subscribe to this newsletter, please go to:
http://www.howtotellagreatstory.com/gsn/indextogsn.html
The information we have on file is:
Your name:
[First Name] [Last Name]
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To unsubscribe, please send a blank email to
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Please forward this whole newsletter to your friends and colleagues.
A WARM WELCOME TO ALL OUR NEW SUBSCRIBERS!
OVERVIEW OF NEWSLETTER CONTENTS ...
-
From the Editor's Desk
-
StoryAfrica
-
StoryAsia
-
Prompts To Tell Your Great Story
-
What's Your Fascinating Story
-
Blow Your Own Trumpet!
-
Articles For Storytellers
-
Tell Everyone About ...
-
Resources For Storytellers - Blogs, Books, Websites
and so on
I. from
the editor's desk ...
Dear [First Name],
The winner of Coaching Parent, The: Help Your Children
Realise Their Potential by Becoming Their Personal Success Coach
is Janet Dowling. Janet, please contact Jack Stewart at
jack@organisationalhealing.org to claim you copy of this
book. Congratulations, Janet.
I have no new contest running. If you'd like to submit your
book/product for the contest, please forward the necessary
information to me via email -
editor@howtotellagreatstory.com.
We have a request from one of our readers, Firoz
Shroff, and I hope you'll be able to answer his query about
storytelling in corporations, dreaming as part of storytelling
and so on. Please go to
READERS WANT TO
KNOW ... to read his query in full and also Firoz's
contact details, should you wish to assist him.
There is also a new announcement about Jack
Canfield's coming visit to Malaysia, under
TELL EVERYONE
ABOUT ...
My attempt at creating the storyteller's forum
came to naught and the reason is tragic (at least for me).
Before I could post my first entry, it was invaded (I
swear, that's the only word I can think of) by this horrible
virus/worm/hacker/terrible person that the whole thing just shut
down - go on, laugh! I have not had the energy or time to look
into it; I am, therefore, really sorry about this. I'll work on
trying to get things sorted out soon.
Instead of worrying about my lost forum, what I
did was to indulge in a little re-designing and I've added
little trumpet pictures next to each item listed in
Blow Your Own Trumpet! What do you think? On the subject on
interviews, there are three new interviews posted -
Sally
Crandall,
Celise
Downs
and Kristy Taylor.
Also, I've made streamlined the
Index of Articles page and I am proud to say, we've got over
250 articles about all manner of storytelling!
In addition, there is a new prompt
to help you tell your story and I hope that you'll take this
opportunity to write that tale and submit it to 'What's Your
Fascinating Story?'
I received a submission for StoryAsia from one Tania Montmon and I've
posted it. However, when I tried to click on the link she provided, I
had no luck. If you do, please let me know. Her article's interesting,
nevertheless.
Eric's been extremely busy with his work and unfortunately, could not
contribute a story to StoryAfrica. Sorry about this.
One last point, for those of you who have asked and still are interested
in the advertising opportunities available on this site, here's the link
to the page which contains all the necessary information:
http://www.howtotellagreatstory.com/adrates.html
I hope you enjoy reading all that's on offer.
Here's to your storytelling success.
Aneeta Sundararaj
editor@howtotellagreatstory.com
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WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU
...
If you would like to send us your feedback about
this newsletter, you can either send an email to
editor@howtotellagreatstory.com or fill in the
webform at
http://www.howtotellagreatstory.com/survey.html
VOTE FOR US
...
Please nominate us for the next set of entries for
'The 101 Best Websites For Writers' competition by
sending an email stating your comments and
nomination about this website (How To Tell A Great
Story) and this newsletter (Great StoryTelling
Network Newsletter) to
writersdig@fwpubs.com with "101 Best Web sites"
as the subject.
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How
To Tell A Great Story (5th Edition)
-
Do you
catch people holding back their yawns every
time you speak?
-
Do you want to converse better in
social situations?
-
Do you have trouble
narrating your own experiences in a way that people
will listen?
-
Do you want someone to ask you how
your day was and be able to narrate even the simple
things you do in an interesting way?
The answers to these questions lie in
learning the BENEFITS of
How To Tell A Great Story.
Your
Friends, Colleagues and Business Associates Will
Be
On The Edge of Their Seats
Every Time You Open Your Mouth!
If you would like to know more, please click on this link for more
details:
http://www.howtotellagreatstory.com
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STORYAFRICA
* Watch this space
Eric Okeke
Writer, Storyteller.
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STORYASIA
Bali a Tropical Paradise by Tania
Montmon
Bali is to Asia as the Hawaii
islands are to the United States: a gorgeous
tropical destination whose economy exists almost
solely to serve the needs and dreams of
tourists. In the 1920s the former Dutch colony
began to gain a reputation as a destination for
cruise ships, and word of its beauty spread.
Despite its proximity to the island of java,
Bali has a contrasting culture to that of island
of java. Most of the Balinese people are Hindus.
When the whole of Indonesia was converting to
Islam, it was only the island of Bali that
remained untouched and till date major part of
the population is Hindu. Hinduism practiced by
people of Bali is similar to that in India, but
the cultural practices are totally different and
unique.
On the island of Bali the cultural differences
with respect to Indian Hinduism can be found in
their temple styles, ceremonial offerings, rites
and rituals. Balinese cultural rites are based
on the belief in reincarnation.
Balinese Hinduism is actually a blend of
indigenous customs with Buddhist and Hindu
influences with that reached the islands over a
period of centuries, although there is only a
small number of practicing Buddhists on Bali
today. The Balinese society is rigidly
organized according to the Hindu caste system,
and people's names reflect their place in that
system.
Bali has a very long history and traces its
people to prehistoric times. These islands were
initially ruled by their own leaders and were
under Java. Thereafter, it became a Dutch
colony. It was only during Word War II that the
Japanese overthrew the Dutch and gained control
of these islands. It was in 1949 that these
islands gained independence with Indonesia.
After independence, the communist took charge of
the affairs of the islands and progress was
little or slow.
It
was in 1965 that General Suharto came to power
and placed the islands on the path to progress.
He initiated a long movement against the
communists that resulted in the killing of about
50,000 people. It was during his rule that the
country progressed and the tourisms industry
really grew. The economy of Bali revolves around
agriculture and tourism.
Still, after these cultural interruptions,
Balinese culture remains unique and is kind of
an oasis in Indonesia.
Although neighboring Java has great influence
and the Suharto regime uprooted many traditional
communities, Bali is still a place of ancient
tradition and Hindu culture rooted in
agriculture and tourism. However, the Balinese
do not take this steadfastness of their culture
for granted.
They honor it every day, and organizations exist
to "conserve" Balinese culture and historical
treasures for the future.
Tania Montmon is the webmaster of
Bali which
is the premier resource for Bali information.
For more information go to:
http://www.fptbali.com
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PROMPTS TO TELL YOUR GREAT STORY
...
List 5 people who annoy you. Write a
story about one of them in less than 1000 words.
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WHAT'S YOUR
FASCINATING STORY?
IT WAS PROSTATE CANCER
H. Steven Robertson
This is being written to record my experience at having been diagnosed
with prostate cancer and the ensuing tests and treatment. It is
intended as information as well as to help any of the other men who have
been diagnosed with the disease. I plan to send it to the American
Cancer Society and the AARP magazine. The names have been changed
to protect the private identities of the individuals involved.
“Three, two, one.” Pop!
“Uhhhhh!”
“Three, two, one.” Pop!
“Uhhhhh!”
To read more,
please click here ...
To tell your own Fascinating Story,
please click here...
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BLOW YOUR OWN TRUMPET!!
The Urban Storyteller - an
interview with Sally Crandall
Excerpts ...
Aneeta: How did you become interested in
storytelling?
Sally: Just when I was a new librarian, I
persuaded my principal to let me go to the National Storytelling
Festival in Jonesboro, Tennessee. She let me count it as a
professional day, and off I went. I sat in the enormous tent on a
cold, hard, metal chair and listened to Syd Lieberman. I forgot
the chair, the people around me. I only watched Syd and heard the
story. That’s the way it was for two days for storyteller after
storyteller. When I left the festival, I knew I wanted to
incorporate storytelling into my job at school. I saw all the
children once a week, so I set myself the task of learning and telling a
new story once a week. Being the librarian was the best job for
telling stories because I could tell the same story over and over and
watch it get better each time.
To
read more,
please
click here ...
Not a journalist. Not a poet. A writer!
- an interview with Celise Downs
Excerpts ...
Aneeta: Congratulations! And I
know exactly what you mean when you say the tabby cat's your "child" for
I have a pet dachshund and she's spoilt to bits ... by everyone! I wish
you and Steven a very happy married life together. On your website,
Gemini Mojo Press, you
state that your mission statement is to support, engage and inspire the
imagination of young adults. Do explain a little more about what this
means and how you intend to carry out this mission.
Celise: Five to ten years down
the line, I'd like to be a publisher for the specific age group that I
write for: 13-18. There's only one publisher out there I know of that
does this, but the age groups starts a bit lower. I think this is a
relatively knew area of publishing that I would like to explore.
If there are aspiring young writers out there that have a dream of
seeing their work published—whether it be a book of poems or a
collection of short stories—I want to be a resource for them.
When I was young, I used to talk to
myself. I used to have long, drawn-out one-sided conversations. No one
ever answered back (grin), but I think having a vivid imagination helped
me be the writer I am today. By the time I hit seventh grade, I knew I
wanted to be a writer of novels. Not a journalist. Not a poet. A writer.
All throughout high school, I had teachers that saw my talent, nurtured
my talent, encouraged my talent. I want to do the same for
others. I'm a mentor in an online program called the Little Owl
Mentoring Program. (http://mentoring.absynthemuse.com).
I'm paired with an aspiring young writer and mentor them for a period of
time dictated by the mentee. It's great. I'm doing what I love and
sharing what I love to do with others.
The aspects of supporting, engaging
and inspiring are feelings that I experience on a daily basis. This is a
mission statement I believe in because I'm living it right now.
To read more,
please
click here ...
What was the word? Oh, yes, TIME - an
interview with Kristy Taylor
Excerpts ...
Aneeta: I understand that you
run and manage several websites. Let’s begin with the first one:
http://www.shortstorycompetitions.com. Please describe this site and
tell us what is the purpose behind it.
Kristy: We started
http://www.shortstorycompetitions.com to help bring all of the
current competitions from around the world to the one place. We knew
that we had difficulties in finding good writing competitions, so knew
that other people were probably having the same problem. We also wanted
to make the site completely free to use; free to post listings and free
to browse listings.
Aneeta: Let’s move on to
Writing Australia. Please tell me a little more about this site and what
it is you hope to achieve.
Kristy: With
http://www.writingaustralia.com we source only Australian markets
and competitions for our paying members (members are welcome from
anywhere in the world), as well as software and ebooks and other bits
and pieces that we feel will be beneficial in any writer’s career. The
paid membership also includes a profile page, whereby the member can
link to a photo or book cover, and include details about themselves and
their writing for all the world to see (their page can be updated at any
time). They can use this page to promote their books or writing
services. Paid members are also eligible to send in 6 free entries to
our own short story competitions, of which two are held each year. The
main site also offers a free ezine to anyone who is interested in
writing for Australian markets and competitions, many different articles
on writing (we also publish
http://www.articlesonwriting.com) and a few other bits and pieces
(like a free character name generator with giveaway rights). You really
need to pop over to the site to get a feel of everything.
To read more,
please
click here ...
If you'd like to be interviewed for this column, please
contact me at
editor@howtotellagreastory.com
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ARTICLES FOR STORYTELLERS
Simple Steps To Unleashing Your
Creative Thinking Potential
People seem to have the misconception that only a elect very little
are able to unleash a steady flow of creative genius. That is not
true at all. The fact is, creativity is very numerous care a muscle
that needs to be exercised in order to consistently give out great
results. If you don't practice harnessing creative thinking, this
skill will very much atrophy into inexistence. But preserve working
and this skill will soon come to you in a snap.
So how do you unleash your creative thinking? Fine, the beginning
thing is to become a human leech. No, we're not talking about just
sucking the blood out of every living being available, we're saying
that you should choose in as much knowledge and learning you can
find. Read everything available -- good and bad, and keep your mind
open to the infinite possibilities of the universe. The more you
know, the more you'll want to know, and the more your faculty of
wonder will be exercised. Repair to be amazed at tiny facts that add
a bit of give color to into your life.
To read more,
please click here ...
How To Improve Your Lousy Writing Skills In The
Workplace
If there’s one important reason why you need to write
effectively in the workplace, it is this: the quality of
your writing imprints a lasting impression on the
reader. This reader may be your boss, a client, or a
person who is ready to make a billion dollar business
deal with you.
Have you ever read a poorly-written document that made
you lose interest right away? It was so poorly-written
that you lost trust in the author and asked yourself why
the author was wasting your time? How about those junk
e-mails that sneak into your junk box like annoying
cockroaches? You know the ones I’m referring to: the
ones pitching vitamins, software, and sex aids. These
e-mails are the biggest showcase of writing blunders,
stricken to death with grammar mistakes, misspellings,
and sloppy sentences. I doubt these e-mails pull a sale
because their poor writing style immediately alienates
the reader.
To read more,
please click here ...
Use the Power of the
Pause to Strengthen Your Storytelling
When we are
telling stories to a group, and especially as a newer storyteller, one
of the most difficult techniques to master is the use of the pause. Even
in everyday conversation, most people have a problem with silence.
Somehow we feel we must always fill a space with words. And yet silence
and a pause during the telling of a story not only enhances the
audience’s understanding of the story, it also builds anticipation. In
this article I will discuss the whys and how of using pauses to
strengthen your storytelling.
Begin
with silence. It takes “guts” to stand in front of an audience after
being introduced without saying something immediately, but this can
prove to be one of the strongest ways to get their attention and to
create rapport. I suggest that we start our storytelling by standing
quietly, making eye contact with audience members, letting them make
contact with us, and then once everyone is comfortable and waiting with
anticipation, start with a dynamic story. You will be amazed at the
level of attention this produces. And, if you choose to start with a
story that involves the listeners, you will find that they will be ready
to give you their all and participate freely, because you have already
created a bond with them through your silence.
To read more,
please click here ...
Everyone Loves a Good Story!
Everyone, no matter what age, loves a good story.
And stories have been around as long as humans could
communicate with each other. Our great books of wisdom
are filled with stories. It is the stories we remember
and internalize. A well told story makes a party worth
attending, a speech worth remembering, and a class worth
taking.
During the past quarter of a century, there has
been an exciting resurgence of the appreciation for oral
storytelling in our nation and across the world. The
organization that has been instrumental is
Storytelling Foundation International (SFI). To
quote, “We have told stories since the beginning of
time. They are the narratives of life, spanning the
centuries and connecting the generations. They are the
vessels in which we carry our shared adventures and most
precious memories.”
To read more,
please click here ...
If you would like to submit your own article on storytelling,
please click here...
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BOOKCLUB
Review of
Awaken the Giant Within
It surprises me not one bit
that this book has sold over a million copies.
Briefly, this book has, as its
subheading, ‘How to take control of your mental emotional, physical and
financial destiny.’
There are four parts to this
book:-
Part 1 – Unleash Your Power
Part 2 – Taking Control – The
Master System
Part 3 – The Seven Days to
Shape Your Life
Part 4 – A Lesson in Destiny
To read more, please
click here
Review of
Cut The Strings - The
True Story of a Soul Reclaimed
I was a little stunned when Lynn sent to me a copy of this ebook. I
never expected it and I read it with much interest. My attention was
grabbed right from the start. It was these words which set me reading
this entire ebook in one go:
Bryn
Jones, who wrote the Preface used these words when signing off: ‘proud
friend to Lynn and Glen Grocott.’ ...
To read more, please
click here
If you would like to submit your own article on storytelling,
please click here...
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BLOGS FOR STORYTELLERS...
Here are some of the first blogs that I've found fascinating
to read. I hope that you enjoy reading their stories as
well...
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RESOURCES FOR STORYTELLERS...
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TELL EVERYONE ABOUT ...
JACK CANFIELD Success
Seminars
Jack Canfield, America’s Success
Coach, originator & co-author of 105 titles of
Chicken Soup for the Soul ® series,
inspirationalist, motivator, self-esteem and peak
performance expert presents two seminars in
Malaysia.
Students/Youth (15-30 year-olds): How you can use
The Success Principles to rapidly achieve goals, plan
and create greater achievement.
On Wednesday, June 7, 2006 from 6.00-9.00pm
At Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre
Investment: Nominal RM80/person (Unbelievable!)
Corporate/Public: Improve sales, income,
productivity, and creativity, problem-solving. These
disciplines will create massive & permanent change in
your lives and in your organization’s operations.
On Thursday, June 8, 2006 from 9.00am-5.00pm
At Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel
Special Group Rate: RM450 only. Academics: RM375
Contact Saras at 016-209 6790 or
email
info@mseries.com.my
How are people going to know about your great storytelling
resources [books, websites, newsletters, forums, e-books,
manuals, ideas, thoughts, tapes and so much more] 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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WHAT OUR READERS ARE SAYING ...
And we can both be thankful
to Aneeta for providing yet another way of making the world smaller
through networking.
Dr. Neill Neill
Yes, one of the beautiful things about Aneeta's work is that it
brings people together.
Rosemarie Skaine
I have just ordered your e-book and read your bonus #4 Great
Storytelling Articles. WOW! did I enjoy. I heard a lot of wisdom
coming from your printed words and look forward to reading the
rest of your book. From what I've read so far, I know that I'm
in for a treat. ...
My name is D'lores and I am a newly retired
teacher. Growing up with ten brothers and sisters you know that
I have been telling stories all of my life. I have been telling
African American folktales and stories for about eight years in
and about my community. I am always looking for ways to better
myself and build upon what I already know.
Looking forward to consulting with you (a first for me),
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READERS
WANT TO KNOW ...
Thank you for your
regular newsletter. I would to know if you have contacts or know
people who have worked on story telling for business development and
corporations. Do you have any study on dreaming as part of
storytelling. Is there any University that gives Master or PhD
degree on corporate storytelling and corporate dreaming through
lifetime experience. Your feedback will be appreciated.
firoz55@hotmail.com
If you have a
query you'd like to post to our readers, please send it to
editor@howtotellagreatstory.com and we'll see what we can do to help
you.
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WISH TO START AN ONLINE BUSINESS ...
"Blogging For Dollars"
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know a thing about web design or HTML! A team of marketing
experts spent over a year compiling this study, and now you
can review it FREE!
To read this special profit-making report, visit:
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SPECIAL REPORT: Learn the
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Developed by a man who has earned over $40,000,000 online, this
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For instant access to this report, go to:
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For more resources, please
click here.
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