pretty much foolproof advice

This is just a quick post because theoretically I'm off the grid this week, on retreat at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts (where the use of devices is frowned upon). But, this is important. This is for aspiring writers and storytellers everywhere. 

So, it happened to me again. I pulled a random book off the shelf at the Kripalu bookstore where I was perusing books on meditation and mindfulness, when this book jumped out at me:

The author, Matthew Dicks, is a bestselling novelist, thirty-six time Moth StorySLAM champion, and five-time GrandSLAM champion...proof he knows how to tell a good story. In this book, he shares what he has learned about successful storytelling from his experience with The Moth, nuggets like how your story must begin, how to capture and hold your listener's/reader's attention, how and why to make people cry, and how to balance that with humor. How to amass ideas for stories, what to include, and what to cut.

If I had to recommend one book about storytelling, this would be it. I should know. At last count, I own, and have mostly read, over 150 books covering every aspect of writing from novels to short stories, from memoir to creative non-fiction to poetry. This is the ONE.

"Great stories happen to

those who can tell them."

~Ira Glass~

Happy storytelling!

jan