Introduction
- Page ID
- 277772
\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)
\( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
\( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\)
\( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\)
\( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)
\( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorA}[1]{\vec{#1}} % arrow\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorAt}[1]{\vec{\text{#1}}} % arrow\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorB}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorC}[1]{\textbf{#1}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorD}[1]{\overrightarrow{#1}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorDt}[1]{\overrightarrow{\text{#1}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectE}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash{\mathbf {#1}}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)
\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)
Image by StockSnap from Pixabay
Introduction
Storytelling has been around since the dawn of humanity, and it is a skill that anyone can pick up.
Just like any other skill—such as drawing, acting, or dancing—anyone can improve with practice. However, if you were to give a person a basketball and say “Go practice,” how much would their skill improve if they weren’t taught the fundamentals? While storytelling is ultimately an art, and art is subjective, it still adheres to some basic rules that everyone should be aware of. Whether you are interested in writing plays, novels, or scripts, they all follow certain storytelling guidelines. This guide will show you the basics of storytelling, and once you learn them, you can work on improving your skill as a storyteller by practicing and practicing and maybe practicing some more.
Broken up into small, readable sections, this guide aims to be a general introduction to the craft of storytelling. It doesn’t matter if you have been writing for years or are just starting: this guide will be helpful to anyone interested in the art. There are dozens of excellent books on storytelling that go into far more detail, but this free guide is a primer to get you started. In addition, each section has a reading exercise that showcases the elements learned in that section. Finally, throughout the guide, there are a variety of interactive assessments to test your understanding.
As this is a guide to storytelling, I will rarely be focusing on grammar. Understanding the rules of grammar is immensely beneficial in writing, and I will touch on that briefly at the end of the guide, but impeccable grammar does not exactly equate to good storytelling. In addition, there are plenty of grammar books, particularly open educational resources that are already available, so check those out for more information.
Lastly, there are very few references to other preexisting stories in this guide. This was intended for two reasons. First, it can be difficult to understand a reference if you have not truly experienced it firsthand. While I can provide examples of good settings and characters from episodes of Star Trek, unless you have seen the source, you are taking our interpretation of it and not your own. Second, as this guide is freely available to anyone who has internet access, I do not know who will be reading this and whether that reference will make sense or not. Therefore, every time there is an example or excerpt provided in the section, it is not connected to some preexisting source. Instead, it was created for the sole purpose of being incorporated into this guide.
Overall, storytelling is a powerful skill to possess, and all that’s required to learn it is time, patience, and a blank sheet of paper. Once you learn this skill, you’ll have the power to connect people through a good story. Whether it is sitting around a campfire or being packed in a crowded theater, stories have always brought us together to hear new thoughts, beliefs, and ideas. Now let’s learn the storytelling skills you need to create worlds and people out of nothingness and bring them into existence.
Note to Instructors
Licensing
A Beginner’s Guide to Storytelling is an Open Educational Resource, or OER for short. The guide is licensed under a CC BY NC SA 4.0.
For those not familiar with Creative Commons (CC) licensing, please spend a few minutes reading this section, so you have a better idea of what you can and cannot do with this guide.
What You Can Do With This Guide
Because this guide uses an open license, you have the following rights, (aka the 5 Rs):
|
Retain |
The right to make, own, and control copies of the content. |
|---|---|
|
Reuse |
The right to reuse the content as verbatim or in its unaltered form. |
|
Revise |
The right to adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the content itself. |
|
Remix |
The right to combine the original or revised content with other content to create something new. |
|
Redistribute |
The right to make and share copies of the original content, as well as any revisions or remixes, with others. |
Unlike a traditional book, there is a lot of flexibility that this guide can offer. Download this as a PDF and share it with as many people as you like. The resource is free and will always be free to the public. In addition, if you wish to modify the guide in any way, that is also strongly encouraged. Please alter this guide so that it best fits the needs of your teaching style as well as the needs of the students. This guide can be amended however you see fit. Just make sure you know about …
What You Can’t Do with This Guide
There is a still a copyright license to the guide, and while it is far less restrictive than a traditional copyright, it is important that you adhere to the CC BY NC SA 4.0 license guidelines:
Attribution (BY)
If you choose to alter this guide in any way from its original source, make sure that you acknowledge the original author. All you need to do is have this tagline somewhere in the document:
“A Beginner's Guide to Storytelling” by James Thibeault. CC BY NC SA 4.0
Non-Commercial (NC)
It is strictly forbidden to use this resource as a means to generate commercial profit. This guide was designed as a permanently free resource, and any material found in this guide must be treated as forever free.
Share-Alike (SA)
If you choose to incorporate all or some of this guide to another OER resource, you must continue to use the same license that is currently issued in this guide. That is, you must continue using the same license CC BY NC SA 4.0. Modifying the CC license from its original is forbidden.
A Quick Note on the Reading Exercises
While there is plenty of OER in other academic fields like Science, Engineering, Mathematics, and Technology, when it comes to the fine arts—particularly in creative writing—the resources are more limited. In general, there are not many fictional stories that are open to the public, unless I pull stories out of the public domain. Because of limited options, the author of the guide decided it best to incorporate their own short stories to ensure that each section has a relevant reading exercise. Like the rest of the guide, all of the short stories are also CC BY NC SA 4.0.
The author did his best to diversify the content, but they are ultimately one person with a particular background and writing style. As mentioned above, this guide can be modified and adjusted to best fit the needs of the students. If you believe certain reading exercises could be substituted with different short stories, plays, or chapters, please do so. Do not feel beholden to use this guide exactly as it is displayed.
At the same time, the author immensely enjoyed accommodating the sections with creative works. They were designed to be acceptable at least for public high school standards—void of profanity, sex, and excessive violence. I hope that you enjoy.