Storytelling Stub

How many words do you have in your physical appearance vocabulary? You may not need too many details to describe characters in your story, but it’s imperative to convey their physical features enough that your readers or listeners can envision and engage them.A...

"Avoid using adjectives and adverbs in poems," my friend said. Because economy of words is essential for poetry, she explained, we need to use descriptive verbs instead. For example, instead of saying "she walked quietly," say "she tiptoed." To describe "run quickly,"...

I sort of knew that science was behind even humor. Every reaction has a reason – a reason why the audience laughs, the timing of the laugh, how long they laugh, how the laughing wave goes up and down, etc. Although I knew, I’ve been playing and adjusting it by ear....

What do you use for writing a story? Pen and paper or computers? All of my stories are catalogued digitally. Google Drive is my friend. It works fine as is, but when I work on a bigger project that requires lots of research, character building, and note taking, I...

Last month, I was talking with a storyteller after a show. His story was delightful and I really enjoyed it, yet something was missing, I felt. I wondered why. While we were chatting, I found out he didn’t edit his writing. Aha! That’s why! His presence and delivery...

Storytelling is a big thing nowadays. Companies are incorporating stories to promote their brands. Researchers use stories to tell us their findings. Activists tell stories to change people’s minds. But are all stories effective? A new Johns Hopkins University study...

In the article, "How to Write With Style," Kurt Vonnegut once wrote that we need to respect our readers when we write: Find a subject you care about: Find a subject you care about and which you in your heart feel others should care about. It is this genuine caring,...

This is not my first time to introduce the famous post-war American novelist Kurt Vonnegut’s tips because they’re always intriguing. In his book Bagombo Snuff Box, he listed these eight rules for writing a short story: Use the time of a total stranger in such a way...