Great Storytelling Network Newsletter – 16 November 2016

I am sorry I did not send out the last newsletter. Something happened in my family that I will talk about in the next newsletter. For now, though, we have quite the selection of stories for you. I hope you will enjoy reading what’s on offer.

Happy storytelling.
Aneeta Sundararaj

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IT’S a scene worthy of a postcard. The expansive land is devoid of any building. The sea of emerald green stalks of paddy is about to turn gold as harvest season begins soon. Birds fly in a sky full of fluffy cumulus clouds.

A 50-year-old man whips out his new, first ever smartphone. He turns his back on this stunning scene. Instead, Chen Wei Meng uses his smartphone to capture images of a patch of mud in one barren square of paddy land that a tractor displaced a moment ago and mutters: “Oh my God. This is so beautiful.”

Registering our bemused looks, he explains: “It’s like jazz music. Every time you listen to the music, it’s a different story. Same here. There is so much movement and character in mud and dirt.”

He has just completed his latest solo exhibition called Sekinchan: Land Of Fertility at Wei-Ling Gallery. We’re at the tail-end of a road trip to Kuala Selangor to view the vistas that inspired his hyper-real depictions of the landscape of this area. Sniggering, Wei Meng says: “When I was working on this series, I was like a scarecrow, standing here in the hot sun, facing the sawah padi (paddy fields) every day.”

Waving his hand dismissively at the scene behind him, he adds: “I know… that green paddy colour is pretty. There’s a happy ending. But to me, it’s boring. It has a limit.” As he continues to speak, it becomes obvious that it’s this need to experience life without limits is the main thrust of his life’s story.

To read more, please click here.

When I started writing many, many years ago, a friend referred me to 2 resources. One was an essay by George Orwell called ‘Politics and the English Language’. I studied the essay, summarised the points and have used the teachings ever since. The other was a book called ‘Plot and Structure’ by James Scott Bell. I’d like to share what I learnt below.

From George Orwell’s essay:
[Words like ‘democracy’] are often used in a consciously dishonest way. That is, the person who uses them has his own private definition, but allows his hearer to think he means something quite different. Statements like … The Soviet press is the freest in the world … are almost always made with intent to deceive.

A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself as least 4 questions:…

To read more, please click here.

Rohi: How much time did it take you to write the first edition of Beyond Satisfaction? And what changes have you made in the second edition?

Breanne: The first edition of Beyond Satisfaction came together very quickly. I developed it as part of the Gumroad Small Product Lab, in which you start, finish, market and sell a book in ten days. That said, the first edition was probably better called a “micro-book” rather than a proper book. For the second edition, it’s been dramatically revised and reworked. There’s three times as much content, extended case studies, action step sections and more. It’s basically a whole new book.

Rohi: Can you describe your writing process?

Breanne: It’s probably more fair to call it an “assembly” process. For the book, it was a matter of pulling together blog posts, emails and other content I’d generated previously and then structuring it to form a cohesive body of work. Even for blog posts, though, I usually start by “talking it out.” I’ll record myself talking about the topic, and then turn that into written content.

Rohi: How do you schedule the time to write in the midst of all your other commitments? …

To read more please click here.

Walking meditation is a great way to learn how to be mindful even if you have never practiced meditation before. There are many ways to practice walking meditation.

In the last article, we have learned four ways to practice walking meditation:
– Mindful awareness of the movement of legs and feet
– Mindful awareness of breathing
– Mindful awareness of body sensations
– Mindful listening

Now, let us learn four more ways to practice mindfulness during walking meditation:

1. Mindful seeing: During mindful walking, we usually keep our eyes downcast to avoid being distracted. However, when we practice mindful seeing, we can look around, notice the sky, trees, birds, or any other object, and try to be mindful of whatever we are seeing. Similar to mindful listening, we can mindfully pay attention to the objects that we see while walking without judgment or reaction.

Of course, we can also keep our eyes downcast and be mindful of the ground and other objects. Meditators who practice in this way often report finding money on the ground that others who rush about might not have noticed.

To read more please click here.

Rohi Shetty is working on a new program, called The Ultimate Guide to Walking Meditation. Readers of How to Tell a Great Story are welcome to join the pilot course for free. Please email him at writenow09@gmail.com and he will send you a secret link to join the course as soon as it’s ready. You’ll also get a free review copy of his book.

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