You can never fully understand something until you've done it. I've always known writing to be hard, time consuming and just all-round challenging. It hasn't been until I've been up to my eyeballs in fiction writing for the best part of a year that I've really started to understand just how hard. I can't settle …
Quick and late one this weeks as my brain is fried. What would you choose from the following options? I think I'd choose Exploration. Domain would be the Genie's Palace, the Forest Shrine or the Pirate Ship. Genie's Palace probably coming out on top by a whisker. I'd go with the gifts of Command, Flawed …
Have you ever been completely jarred out of a story by something so wrong, you just can't accept it in that story's context? You have to sit back, process and then try to put the pieces back together to go on. I've just been reading the second book in a series, romantic fantasy, set in …
So, Pinterest is now inundating me with story-related spreads for Tarot cards. I'm doing one more and then will leave well enough alone unless something truly epic hits my screen. This week's effort is a Story Outline Spread: And here's the reading... Card 1 - Hero Ace of Cups - the aces are about the …
I plugged myself into an Ogilvy webinar on Mastering the Craft of Storytelling, presented by David Hofmeyer a few weeks ago and wanted to share some of his observations on story structures in particular. One of the first points he made was around why storytelling is so effective as a transmitter of information. Human brains …
Continue reading Ogilvy Webinar – Mastering the Craft of Storytelling
I thought it might be nice to share some of my favourite places for stories and ideas: Ilona Andrews - Ilona and Gordon Andrews are urban fantasy authors with a knack for turning out tales that manage to be both unexpected and yet feel completely 'right'. They're in the final stages of preparing the final …
There's a theory lurking in the long grass of Communications Theory that I'm slightly obsessed with. The theory was put forward by a Jesuit priest and professor of Renaissance English Literature by the name of Walter Ong in 1982. The theory is Secondary Orality. What's fascinating about it, is that he intended it to be …
I get some weird looks when I admit I carry a self-created storytelling game in my handbag. Mind you, I get weird looks when I admit to carrying a handbag. Not entirely sure why - I hate having my hands full of random access cards, wallets and umbrellas when they could be hanging on to …
Eric Barker writes a fantastic weekly blog on life and how to be better at it. He researches up the wazoo and publishes in-depth, insightful and evidence-driven articles. A recent one was on rituals to create strong connections within teams and families. A great read as always but the final point had me paying attention, …
Double warning! This is the essay that came out of the literature review. It's even longer... Why is storytelling important? “...narrative is present in every age, every place, in every society; it begins with the very history of mankind and there nowhere is, nor has been, a people without narrative.” (Barthes, 1977, pg 79) Anthropological …
The DNA of Stories 