Spinning Yarns

What makes a good storyteller, in your opinion? Are your favorite storytellers people you know or writers you admire?

It is said that the best way to engage your audience is to narrate a story.  Children love being told stories.  I grew up reading Amar Chitra Katha a wonderful collection of mythological Indian stories.  I also read the Chandamama,  Hardy Boys and James Hadley Chase.

My daughter would not allow me to sleep without telling her a bed-time story every night.   For most children, it is their grandmother and for some it is their parents.

Storytelling is an art.  And a story can enthrall, entertain and inspire our children.  Aesop’s fables, Grimms fairy tales, folk tales and others have a takeaway message – a moral that makes them even more memorable.

Some writers like Roald Dahl, Mark Twain, Richmal Crompton, Enid Blyton, Lewis Caroll, Robert Louis Stevenson R.K. Narayan etc  weaved stories full of humour, suspense and vivid imagery that we were all captivated.

A good story teller has the following traits:

–  selects  a story that suits the audience
–  brings the story to life
–  loves  the story
–  selects a story plot that has some conflict and resolution
–  creates vivid images
–  uses voice modulation, gestures and eye contact to emphasize the message
–  pauses for effect
–  leaves the audience wanting more

Other interesting posts in this category:
1) http://shesrambling.com/2014/11/23/just-for-today-i-m-the-story-teller/
2) http://dossiersofsbk.wordpress.com/2014/11/24/raconteurs/
3) http://iamnotsickboy.com/2014/11/24/sweet-storytellers/
4) http://www.inspiringmax.com/storytelling-powerful/
5) http://lindaswritingblog.wordpress.com/2014/11/23/my-story-2/
6) http://flowersandbreezes.wordpress.com/2014/11/23/story-telling/
7) http://teepee12.com/2014/11/23/once-upon-a-time-2/
8) http://yzhengblog.wordpress.com/2014/11/23/we-are-all-storytellers/
9) http://ripplesnreflectiontimes.wordpress.com/2014/11/03/gone-girl/
10) http://tombalistreri.wordpress.com/2014/11/23/spinning-a-yarn/