Great Storytelling Network Newsletter – 24 September 2014

If you have difficulty completing any of your writing projects, then Rohi shares with you five ways to improve your productivity. Bill shares a story that recounts some of his happy memories. And I tell of the lessons I learnt in the aftermath of Ladoo’s demise. I hope you enjoy all our stories.

Happy storytelling.

Aneeta Sundararaj

• 10 Minute Articles – Write Unique Articles Fast!
• 50 Biggest Blog Blunders and How to Avoid Them
• The Secret of the Black Knight: An Illustrated Adventure Fairy Tale for Children

Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson

You have been telling stories for awhile now and have enjoyed it immensely. However, the stories that you have been telling are someone else’s. You have never told a story that you have made up. Now you want to tall your very own stories. How do you go about developing your own stories? Well, if you sit down for awhile and lend me your ears, I will tell you how I how I make up my stories. That may give you’re a start.

First thing you must realize is that any story you develop yourself is a story for telling and NOT for reading. The difference should be obvious. A story for reading is complete and is read word for word. A story you develop to tell is composed of an outline or skeleton that you, the teller, cloth in rich word pictures for your listeners. Later, of course, you can rewrite if for reading and get it published. The beauty of having a story for telling is that every time you tell it the story can change and grow. Stories for reading are “caste in stone” so to speak, and do not grow with every reading. …

To read more, please click here.

Planes of international airlines crash; grief and sorrow for victims’ families
Last count about 3 in 2014, 1st & 2nd qtr, rubbishing aviation safety measures
Again and again, air planes crash or disappear in Ocean; what’s happening to air travel?
No one is sure of causes…Technical fault? War? Global Politics? Or Spiritual?
Every airline is agitated. Whose turn next?

Calling on governments and aviation authorities to up standards and safety measures
Round the clock, airplanes fly, carrying passengers and cargo
Arrive alive to meet loved ones; air travelers demand this
Safety is not negotiable, so should plane crashes
Hey, no more crashes, air travelers want safety

“Perfectionism and Procrastination lead to Paralysis!” ~Roy Sorrels

The three top obstacles that are responsible for writer’s block are:
•Perfectionism
•Fear of failure
•Procrastination

Perfectionism leads to fear of failure and that in turn leads to procrastination.

The good news is that Peter Shallard, aka the shrink for entrepreneurs has devised a system called the Five Pillars of Productivity to destroy procrastination once and for all.

The Five Pillars of Productivity are (drum roll, please):…

To read more (and for download links) please click here.

(You are free to reprint this article in any media as long as it remains in intact and the byline below the article is included.)

Ladoo was my little much-loved dachshund who died in March 2013. In the aftermath of her death, I was surprised by the number of people who contacted me to convey their condolences. Perhaps, I hadn’t expected so many people to understand my bond with this furkid. I was deeply touched by all their gestures. There was one person, however, who stood out among them all. When I telephoned her, I apologised for being sad and promised that I would soon be able to move on. Her response was, “This is your time to feel. Take however long you wish.” I have tried to describe what this meant and the closest I’ve come to is this: she offered me her time and space.

The one way in which to evaluate how valuable this gift turned out to be is to compare it with the ‘advice’ I’d received prior to that. He had told me what I should have done, what I didn’t do correctly and he would have done in my situation. In an emotionally charged situation, he added to my sadness by dumping her own memory files on me. His aim, I suppose, was to see if he could identify with my experience at some level and assert that he knew what I was going through. Instead of feeling comforted, I felt judged and that I had somehow failed Ladoo….

To read more, please click here.

Although it is important to recognize and practice the physical and technical aspects of any sport, once that has been accomplished (with constant “fine tuning”), athletes need to begin to attend to how their minds, thoughts and emotions affect their performance. The ultimate goal is to perform “without thinking” … that is to say in an automatic, natural, fluid manner resulting from consistent repetitious practice. That level, when achieved, separates the amateur from the professional … the beginner from the more experienced athlete. This level allows the stress of competition to be dealt with most effectively as the athlete develops and maintains focusand then goes into his/her own zone in order to compete successfully.

The human element is always operating despite how well-versed an athlete might become. That human element is comprised of …

To read more, please click here.

Bill Keeth concludes his happy memories of Mount Carmel Infants’ & Boys’ Schools, Manchester, in the late-1940s & early- ’50s

1953 There is no tuck shop in school as such. So everybody, or so it seems, goes over the wall at playtime to stock up on Ha’penny Chews, Banana Splits, Rainbow Crystals, Chocstix, Black Jacks, Licquorice Sticks and other confections at Mr Mac’s toffee shop on James Street, where Mr Mac (“Macdonald”, he once confided to me in his retirement), bespectacled, flat cap aslant, incessantly chewing on the remnant of some anonymous sweetmeat, takes slabs of Highland Toffee, chocolate, treacle (in season), and breaks them with a toffee hammer.

More seasoned wall-hoppers, bored with this perennial performance, take themselves off to the Little Woman’s shop beyond the off-licence where they splash out on Pendeleton’s Twicers.

1954 Mickey Mulligan, the new headteacher, introduces Music to the Curriculum. This innovation involves your class (Standard 5) being taken out to the Prefabs (to Standard 8) on a Friday afternoon to listen to Mickey Mulligan’s record collection – all two of them, as I recall: ‘Cool Water’ by Frankie Laine and the Oberkirchen Children’s Choir, singing ‘The Happy Wanderer’…..

To read more, please click here.

*** nothing to report ***

How are people going to know about your resources 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.

Note: The Great Storytelling Network/How To Tell A Great Story will not be held liable for any direct or indirect losses or damages originating from the use of any information listed on our website or in our newsletter. By using this site and newsletter you agree to indemnify and hold all owners and representative parties of the Great Storytelling Network/How To Tell A Great Story harmless from any claim or demand originating out of your use of this website. Use of our website and newsletters is an indication of your complete understanding and acceptance of these Terms of Service. Thank you.