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A brief overview of Archetypes from The Hero and the Outlaw by Margaret Mark and Carol S. Pearson. Demonstration of archetypes in classical and pop culture as well as brand examples and alternate names for each archetype.

1. 1. Archetypes & Branding: The Unconscious Appeal Information pulled from The Hero and the Outlaw by Mark and Pearson

2. 2. What are archetypes & where did they come from? Carl Jung Joseph Campbell Margaret Mark Psychologist who introduced the term Archetype in 1919 Demonstrated that the collective unconscious is cross-cultural 1949 Applied Archetypes to Marketing and Branding Archetypes are a collectively-inherited unconscious idea, pattern of thought, image, etc., that is universally present in individual psyches 1919 1949 2001

3. 3. Why do we use them in advertising? differentiation To create diﬀerentiation within a category Hero Snickers The cure for hunger, you're not you when you're hungry Jester M&Ms The characters keep it light and make fun of themselves Explorer Almond Joy Unwrap paradise (even at the laundromat- as shown in the TV spot) For example- when you're stuck choosing chocolate at check-out archetypes create mental short-cuts to help you make decisions when faced with many similar options Everyman Kit Kat Take a break, have a kit kat - everyone needs a break

4. 4. Why do we use them in advertising? universal needs To tap into the collective unconscious by appealing to universal human needs ...even if we're talking about hair care the need for understanding the need for power the need for belonging the need for enjoyment Sage Magician Everyman Jester the need for intimacy Lover Living Proof Our scientists promise you a good hair day, every day Nexxus Products like the Youth Renewal Elixir promise powerful transformation Tresemme Professional, affordable - accessible products Aussie Add some Roo to your do. A purple kangaroo is the brand icon Fekkai The most privileged hair in the world, suggestive imagery

5. 5. Introduction to the 12 Types Demonstrated through art Information from The Hero and the Outlaw by Mark and Pearson

6. 6. The 12 Archetypes Innocent Explorer Sage Hero Outlaw Magician RulerCreatorCaregiverJesterLoverEveryman

7. 7. the Innocent Core Desire: to experience paradise Goal: to be happy Fear: doing something wrong/bad that will provoke punishment Strategy: do things right Gift: faith and optimism Trap: Boring for all their naive innocence "free to be you and me" Degas | Waiting

8. 8. the Explorer Core Desire: the freedom to ﬁnd out who you are by exploring the world Goal: to experience a better, more authentic, more fulﬁlling life. Fear: getting trapped, conforming, inner emptiness, nonbeing Strategy: journey, seek out and experience new things, escape from entrapment and boredom Gift: autonomy, ambition, ability to be true to one's own soul Trap: Aimless wandering, becoming a misﬁt "don't fence me in" Monet | The Boat Studio

9. 9. the Sage Core Desire: the discovery of truth Goal: to use intelligence and analysis to understand the world Fear: being duped, misled; ignorance Strategy: seek out information and knowledge; become self reﬂective and understand the thinking process Gift: wisdom, intelligence Trap: can study issues forever and never act "the truth will set you free" da Vinci | Vitruvian Man

10. 10. the Hero Core Desire: prove one's worth through courageous and diﬃcult action Goal: exert mastery in a way that improves the world Fear: weakness, vulnerability, "wimping out" Strategy: become as strong, competent, powerful as you are cable of being Gift: competence and courage Trap: arrogance, developing the need for there to always be an enemy "where there's a will, there's a way" Raphael | Victory of St. Michael

11. 11. the Outlaw Core Desire: revenge or revolution Goal: to destroy what is not working (for the Outlaw or the society) Fear: being powerless, trivialized, inconsequential Strategy: disrupt, destroy or shock Gift: outrageousness, radical freedom Trap: to go over to the dark side, criminally "rules are meant to be broken" Pollock | Eyes in the Heat

12. 12. the Magician Core Desire: Knowledge of the fundamental laws of how the world or universe works Goal: make dreams come true Fear: unanticipated negative consequences Strategy: develop vision and live it Gift: ﬁnding win-win outcomes Trap: becoming manipulative "it can happen" Dali | Galatea of the Spheres

13. 13. the Regular guy/gal Core Desire: Connection with others Goal: to belong, ﬁt in Fear: standing out, seeming to put on airs, and being exiled or rejected as a result Strategy: develop ordinary solid virtues, the common touch, blend in Gift: realism, empathy, lack of pretense Trap: give up self to blend in, in exchange for only a superﬁcial connection "all men and women are created equal" Whistler | Whistler's Mother

14. 14. the Lover Core Desire: attain intimacy and experience sensual pleasure Goal: being in a relationship with the people, the work, the experience, the surroundings they love Fear: being alone, a wallﬂower, unwanted, unloved Strategy: become more and more attractive- physically, emotionally, and in every other way Gift: passion, gratitude, appreciation, commitment Trap: doing anything and everything to attract and please others, losing identity "I only have eyes for you" Klimt | The Kiss

15. 15. the Jester Core Desire: to live in the moment with full enjoyment Goal: to have a great time and lighten up the world Fear: boredom or being boring Strategy: play, make jokes, be funny Gift: joy Trap: frittering away one's life "if I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution" Rockwell | Tattoo Artist

16. 16. the Caregiver Core Desire: protect people from harm Goal: to help others Fear: selﬁshness, ingratitude Strategy: do things for others Gift: compassion, generosity Trap: martyrdom of self, entrapment of others "love your neighbor as yourself" Van Eyck | Arnolﬁni Portrait

17. 17. the Creator Core Desire: create something of enduring value Goal: give form to a vision Fear: having mediocre vision or execution Strategy: develop artistic control and skill Gift: creativity and imagination Trap: perfectionism, miscreation "if it can be imagined, it can be created" Michelangelo | The Sistine Chapel

18. 18. the Ruler Core Desire: control Goal: create a prosperous, successful family, company, or community Fear: chaos, being overthrown Strategy: exert leadership Gift: responsibility, leadership Trap: being bossy, authoritarian "power isn't everything, it's the only thing" Velazquez | Las Meninas

19. 19. Mapping Archetypes to Universal Human needs Character Compass * How each archetype addresses an underlying universal human need * Demonstration of how archetypes appear in culture

20. 20. Universal human desire & How each archetype meets the desire Yearn for paradise Leave a mark on the world Connect with others Provide structure to the world safety understanding freedom liberation power masteryintimacy enjoyment belonging service control innovation Innocent Sage Explorer Outlaw Magician HeroLover Jester Everyman Caregiver Ruler Creator

21. 21. Demonstrating Universality Classics & Cross-Culture Hero Magician Outlaw Explorer Sage Innocent Creator Ruler Caregiver Everyman Jester Lover Chinese Zodiac Tiger Rat Snake Horse Rooster Rabbit Goat Dragon Dog Ox Monkey Pig What is the universal human desire that draws you to an archetype? How does each archetype address that need? Leave a mark on the world Yearn for paradise Provide structure to the world Connect with others Mastery Power Liberation Freedom Understanding Safety Innovation Control Service Belonging Enjoyment Intimacy Shakespeare Claudio Puck Don John Desdemona Lear's Fool Ophelia Viola King Lear Nurse Bottom Dogberry Romeo Much Ado Midsummer's Night Dream Much Ado Othello King Lear Hamelt Twelfth Night King Lear R & J Midsummer's Night Dream Much Ado R & J Greek Gods Apollo Poseidon Ares Hermes Athena Artemis Janus Zeus Hera Hephaestus Dionysus Aphrodite

22. 22. Pop Culture Cheat Sheet Hero Magician Outlaw Explorer Sage Innocent Creator Ruler Caregiver Everyman Jester Lover Disney Princessess Merida Tiana Mulan Ariel Belle Snow White Tinkerbell Elsa Cinderrella Lilo Rapunzel Jasmine The Hunger Games Katniss Seneca Crane Gale Plutarch Heavensbee Haymitch Rue Beetee President Snow Cinna Katniss' mother Caesar Flickerman Peeta X-Men Cyclopse Mystique Wolverene Kitty Pride Professor X Rogue Storm Magneto Jean Gray Iceman Gambit Emma Frost What is the universal human desire that draws you to an archetype? How does each archetype address that need? Leave a mark on the world Yearn for paradise Provide structure to the world Connect with others Mastery Power Liberation Freedom Understanding Safety Innovation Control Service Belonging Enjoyment Intimacy

23. 23. Brand Examples & Alternate Names

24. 24. Seeking Structure Provide structure to the world service control innovation Caregiver Ruler Creator Other Names: Artist Entrepreneur Storyteller Visionary Other Names: Ambassador Judge Patriarch Sovereign Other Names: Angel Guardian Healer Samaritan

25. 25. Seeking Paradise Yearn for paradise safety understanding freedom Innocent Sage Explorer Other Names: Child Dreamer Idealist Muse Other Names: Detective Mentor Shaman Translator Other Names: Adventurer Generalist Pioneer Seeker

26. 26. Leave a mark on the world liberation power mastery Outlaw Magician Hero Seeking Change Other Names: Activist Gambler Maverick Rebel Reformer Other Names: Athlete Liberator Rescuer Warrior Other Names: Alchemist Engineer Innovator Scientist

27. 27. Connect with others intimacy enjoyment belonging Lover Jester Everyman Seeking Connection Other Names: Advocate Citizen Networker Servant Other Names: Clown Entertainer Provocateur Shapeshifter Other Names: Companion Hedonist Matchmaker Romantic

28. 28. Suggestions? Additions? Let me know @emilylizb

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Archetype Overview with brand examples & character compass

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Published on A brief overview of Archetypes from The Hero and the Outlaw by Margaret Mark and Carol S. Pearson. Demonstration of archetypes in classical and pop culture as well as brand examples and alternate names for each archetype. 1. Archetypes & Branding: The Unconscious Appeal Information pulled from The Hero and the Outlaw by Mark and Pearson 2.

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The Dance of Storytelling | Ish Ait Hamou | TEDxUBIWiltz

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Telling stories: Narratives as life experiences | Marina Lambrou | TEDxKingstonUponThames

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Stories from people of all backgrounds and beliefs

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👊 Behavioural Interview Question | A Time you Demonstrated Leadership Skills

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Understanding Chinese Dragons - Also, Are They Real?

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These are the type of dragons from myths and legends across asia. ►Subscribe for more food adventures! http://bit.ly/1hsxh41 ★↓FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA!↓★ Facebook Show Page: http://on.fb.me/1MlPKvU Facebook Mike Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/mikeychenx Instagram: http://instagr.am/Mikexingchen Twitter: http://twitter.com/Mikexingchen Vine: https://vine.co/Mikexingchen Snapchat: Mikeychenx Periscope: Mikexingchen Get tickets to the best show on earth!!!

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Experiential Learning Explained - Definition & Theory

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Teaching Tips | Experiential Learning Model

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Kolbs- experiential learning

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Organizations use and tell lots of different types of stories, many of which are listed here. Each type is appropriate for various unique uses and applications. Story prompt s are things you say to someone else in order to draw out the story.

Name and Definition

Possible Story Prompts or Steps to Craft These Stories

"Your founding" stories: Moments in your life that
made a huge difference in who you are today. Sometimes people talk
about these as I finally realized who I am or
Here's when I began to feel comfortable in my own skin
situations.

"What the organization stands for" stories: Stories
that depict how core values are embodied in your workplace.
These aren't stories to say that your organization has
values. Convey what's done to actualize these values.

"What you do" stories: Stories about memorable
moments in your work life that define how you spend your time told
in a way that allows others to experience what you do as an
individual. These stories include both successses and
failures.

"Tell me about a time when you were influenced by a mentor
or coach and how that shaped the way you view your
work."
"Paint me a picture of a memorable moment in your career
that's impacted your perception of the work that you
do."
"Enlighten me about an event that's profoundly impacted
you as a person and how this is reflected in your work."
"Tell me about the personal legacy that you're leaving
through the work that you do."
"Tell me a story about your work that reflects its ultimate
importance."

"What the enterprise does" stories: Stories about the
why of what the organization believes in (this isn't
to make a profit).

"Tell me a story about the why behind what you, as
staff, are collectively paid to do as an organization."
"Talk to me about a customer challenge that demonstrates what
drives your business."
"Enlighten me about a situation that demonstrates the impact
your organization has on the lives of individuals or the
community."
"Visualize and tell me about a specific moment in time that
revealed to you and your colleagues the importance of the work you
all do."

"Personal vision" stories: An image of a possible,
attractive, and desirable state not yet realized. (This is a type
of "future" story.)

"Dream" stories: A personal story about the future of
a project, business, product, service, or enterprise. (This is a
type of "future" story.)

"Project-specific future" stories

Similar to an organizational future story, a project-specific
future story is based on what life will be like when the vision and
project plan are fully implemented and operationalized.

"Organizational-based scenario" stories

Consider the approach used by the 2020 Media Futures Project.
You candownload
several reports that outline their approach.

"Your personal success" stories

"Share with me a memory about a time when you achieved a
major personal success that was unexpected."
"Tell me about a time when you set out to do something and
found success beyond your wildest dreams."
"Enlighten me about a time in your personal life when you
stumbled into a wildly successful situation."
"Tell me about a time when you consciously decided to become
successful at something and, against all odds, reached your
goal."

"Organizational success" stories

"Overcoming personal barriers" stories

"Share with me a memory about a time when you overcame a
major life hurdle."
"Tell me about a time when you found yourself surrounded by so
many obstacles that you thought you'd never be able to dig
yourself out - but you did."
"Enlighten me about a time in your personal life when you
stumbled into a wildly successful situation."
"Tell me about a time when you consciously decided to become
successful at something and against all odds reached your
goal."

"Overcoming organizational barriers" stories

"Tell me about a time when an employee saved the
day."
"Tell me about a major obstacle on a project and how it was
resolved."
"Enlighten me about a situation where a group went the extra
mile to satisfy a customer."
"Build me a story about a huge, unexpected challenge that
arose and what was done to rectify it."
Go back through the organization's archives and find
situations where the entire firm or a single brand offering was
compromised and what was done to overcome that. Then craft stories
to help others appreciate these situations.

"Your memorable customer" stories

From employees: "Tell me about a time when a customer used
our product or service and had a huge win. Or a situation where a
customer used our product or service and saved the day in their
company or were able to overcome a significant
obstacle."
From customers: "Tell me about a time when you used our
product or service and had a huge win. Or a situation where you
used our product or service and saved the day in your company or
were able to overcome a significant obstacle."

1. Share stories (not statistics and information) with them
about how their actions led to specific results.
2. Ask them for the story of what led to their support. Listen
delightedly.
3. Ask them what that support or funding has meant to them.
4. Ask them if they'd be willing to share their overall story
with others so that additional people might also support your
program, project, organization, or nonprofit. This story is not
about the kind of support they provided or how much money they
gave. It's really about how they worked together with you to
create an amazing result.

"Now" stories: These stories bring together pain
points, opportunities, and obstacles to heighten urgency and
stimulate action right now when seeking support or funding.

"Your" stories: These stories highlight why
you are passionate about solving a particular problem or
supporting a cause.

"Our" stories: These stories of inclusion put forth
what you and the sponsor, supporter, or funder can accomplish
together. (This is a type of "future" story.)

Convey what's made possible by working together that
wouldn't be possible otherwise.

"Back" stories (from consumers): Stories that build
their reputation and yours as well.

"Target market" stories: Stories about the market
segments you serve and/or stories about the prospect's
organization.

"Target audience" stories: What you know about the
prospect(s) you're meeting/chatting with

Stories about past failures (for use in prospecting)

There are two types of "failure" stories: those about
prospects who chose not to embrace what your organization has to
offer (especially those who elected to do nothing) and those
customers who didn't fully utilize, follow, or implement what
you provided to them. Why do you want to tell these stories to
prospects? The first one speaks to the risks of doing nothing. The
second is an opportunity for you to talk about what can happen if
customers misuse a product, don't properly implement a
service, or ignore your advice. It's also a chance to talk
about how you recover customers when things go awry.

Stories about pain and urgency (for use in organizational
change)

"Ain't it awful" stories: These are real
stories of the struggles and challenges that people face because of
broken systems, inefficient processes, marketplace threats,
consequences for customers, and so on. Connect these struggles to
the organization's potential fate. These stories reinforce
the fact that maintaining the status quo isn't workable.
Distress about the way things currently work provides motivation,
more so than the vision of what's possible.
"From the future" stories: Go into the future. Do an
environmental scan looking out five to ten years. Identify trends,
threats, and wildcards - highly unlikely events that would
have huge impact if they were to happen. Craft stories for your
change based on this information.

"Change is possible" stories: Stories about people
surviving a personal or organizational change that's
significant to them.

"Tell me about a time when you were faced with an
unexpected change in your life and what you did to get you through
it successfully."
"Tell me about a time in your life when you greatly resisted a
change and, when you embraced it, many opportunities presented
themselves."
"Tell me about a time when a group you were part of (in the
organization or elsewhere) went through a big change that no one
thought could be accomplished - yet it was successful -
and what made that possible."

"Identify what needs to get done to solve problems"
stories (for use in organizational change)

"Pinpoint and mitigate risks" stories (for use in
organizational change)

"Obtain the resources you need in a change" stories
(for use in organizational change)

"Adapt as we go" stories (for use in organizational
change)

Stories about course corrections that happen once the
organization gets deep into the change.

"Best practice" stories (for use in organizational
change)

"Tell me a story about something that happened in [xx]
phase of the change that really made an impact on you (or your team
or department)."
"Tell me about the most important (or significant or moving)
story you've heard about this change project."
"Tell us about a situation in which you gained a personal
insight about this change that will continue to influence how you
approach your work long-term."
"Tell me a story about a specific action that you (or your
team or department) took that really helped to solidify the
change."
"Tell me about something that happened in this change that you
would suggest not repeating in a future change
initiative."

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Business Storytelling For Dummies Cheat Sheet - dummies

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Successful businesses have discovered the power of storytelling and its ability to affect the bottom line. A good way to start building your business stories is to use the time-honored storyboarding technique. There are usually a few ways to tell the same story - the one you choose may depend on the circumstances of the ...

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In this day and age, having a social media account means you have access to see everyone's life without actually being there. With social media, looking someone up on the internet has never been easier. The internet has created a space for blogs, posting pictures, and events that you attend. Social media has become the modern way we tell the stories of our lives and in the 21st-century, social media is a time capsule for all humankind.

The evolution of storytelling reflects how people learn and communicate. Through oral storytelling or written storytelling, the voice of narration w ill always have a way place and purpose. Though the mediums have changed, the core concept of using a sequence of events in an exciting narrative has remained the same.

Traditional Storytelling is how history was created and how it was developed. In the new generation of VR, we are taking bigger steps into the modern world and are creating a social aspect of storytelling. In some ways with the advent of VR in the modern era, we have circled back to visual storytelling as brands strive to find their narrative.

Below is an infographic to put the complicated history of storytelling in a more vertical fashion!

The history of storytelling goes back thousands of years. Cave dwellers used pigment to paint on walls with their hands to create stories and myths. The ancient Greeks carved their language into walls to tell how history was moving forward. The narrative voice in writing speaks volumes about each of the culture's everyday life. As generations grow and develop, daily life turns into another mark on history.

Through the tradition of storytelling, humanity gets stronger and tales and myths are created with new and exciting innovations and technology.

The Chauvet Cave lies in the mountains of Southern France and contains incredibly well-preserved cave drawings dating back to 30,000 years ago. On the walls of the cave, explorers found paintings depicting the prehistoric period. This was how they formed unspoken and unwritten language to communicate. The cave drawings told stories about encountering mammoths, lions, and rhinos. The paintings depicted their everyday activities of using homemade weapons and using every piece of an inch of an animal to survive.

The Ancient Greeks lived on islands and fished for food. They discovered ways to use their tools to carve messages into tombs and slates. Their stories for thousands of years were communicated only through oral storytelling. The Greeks are also the first known civilization to develop writing and apply it to storytelling, which they used to leave messages and write poems. They used animals like pigeons to deliver urgent messages. Most of their communication was in times of sorrow, war, and celebration.

" The Epic of Gilgamesh" was a story that started as an epic poem by the Sumerian King in the Third Millennium BC. This story was about a man named Gilgamesh and a "wild man" named Enkidu who befriends Gilgamesh after a fight, and they set off on a journey to find the key to immortality. Epic poems are referred to as such because they could fill a 500-page book by today's standards, but because the Greeks were so passionate about the art of oral storytelling, these stories were written as poems to help the storytellers remember and perform the whole story.

Over the next several centuries, the art of the written word and storytelling would evolve and develop into cohesive works like the Bible and everything William Shakespeare. The Bible was written back in 1,300 BC, with stories, myths, and legends about kings, gods, and prophets. They were tales and lessons with a religious purpose that people learned through orally speaking before being written.

William Shakespeare was an English-speaking writer, actor, and poet born in 1564. Although his life was short by today's standards, Shakespeare wrote 37 plays during his lifetime including Hamlet and Romeo and Ju liet. Shakespeare was a huge stepping stone in building storytelling because his work was so expansive and was relatable to everyone. To this day, Shakespeare is still the most performed playwright of all time and is continuously adapted for film and is a cultural phenomenon. Not too long after the era of Shakespeare, stories that would come to be known as fairy tales started in France. Many fairy tales from this point in time were stories that were passed down from generations before and simply needed to be put to paper.

The tales were mostly written with children in mind. They were created to teach children basic life lessons in storytelling form. The story of Hansel and Gretel was meant to scare children from wandering off in the woods. Telling a story is a tangible example of how legends and myths make storytelling that much more valuable to an audience.

Since nothing like the newspaper had ever existed, its invention shook the world. The first modern newspaper was created in 1709 using three plates with red, yellow, and blue inks. The first newspaper was published and distributed in 1690 and called Publick Occurrences Both Foreign and Domestic. Shortly after that, in 1704 the first Boston Newsletter was created, it was named The Statute of Anne.

While the invention of the printed word was undoubtedly no small achievement, the design of the printed photo would be even more impactful. The gift of photography in the 21st century is impressive, although if it weren't for a man named Joseph Nicephore Niepce, we wouldn't have photography. He was the first person to take a photograph and have it shown to the world.

He and his brothers used light to reproduce negatives of images, and in 1813 developed the art of Lithography to transpose those negatives onto paper and create actual photographs. Niepce's work is very much alive in the art of photography. By using the proper digital tools, we now have photos taken in the best resolution and the best quality.

In 1949 Frank N. Magill founded a publishing company that was called Salem Press. It was first placed on Fifth Avenue in New York City across from a Public Library.

Salem Press and Harper & Row agreed and sold eleven reference titles. In 1975 Salem Press moved from New York City to Englewood Cliffs New Jersey. It developed a new approach to telephone sales, not long after Frank produced an editorial office in Pasadena California. He began building staff to develop a full line of reference resources. Frank later died in 1947, but his publishing company is still active for the world to enjoy.

Another massive part of Frank's legacy would be the development of printed magazines, which came when mass printing of small books was made more affordable. Print magazines have fluctuated in recent years and we have made it possible to have digital media be our main source of reading.

In 1939 the 'Magical Box' was invented that would be known as the television. The first television broadcast was Franklin D Roosevelt on NBC. After the first broadcast was sent off, the company RCA began to sell televisions, and it became a huge hit. Since the TV was designed to look just like furniture, it was appealing to consumers and fit right in every living room.

The first commercial arcade video game was created in 1971 and called Computer Space. It was produced by a company called Nutting Associates. Video games would go on to become one of the most popular mediums for telling simple stories of the 20th and 21st centuries. By presenting to the world a new way to be in a story, video games have made it possible for you to put yourself in the shoes of a character and go on adventures and journeys as if they were real.

The 1980s was the time for crazy perms, insane outfits, a rocker attitude, and music that made you get up and dance. It was also the time when music videos had come to prominence and were used to give deeper meaning to the song in the video. It was the start of a decade that was upbeat and craving something different. People created and shared music videos to spread ideas through music. This was a mixture of audio and visual that told stories in a whole new way.

In this day and age, having a social media account means you have access to see everyone's life without actually being there. With social media looking someone up on the internet has never been easier. The internet has created a space for blogs, posting pictures, and events that you attend. Social media has become the modern way we tell the stories of our lives and in the 21st-century, social media is a time capsule for all humankind.

The evolution of storytelling reflects how people learn and communicate. Through oral storytelling or written storytelling, the voice of narration w ill always have a way place and a purpose. Though the mediums have changed, the core concept of using a sequence of events in an exciting narrative has remained the same.

Traditional Storytelling is how history was created and how it was developed. In the new generation of VR, we are taking bigger steps into the modern world and are creating a social aspect of storytelling. In some ways with the advent of VR in the modern era, we have circled back to visual storytelling as brands strive to find their narrative.

Below is an infographic to put the complicated history of storytelling in a more vertical fashion!

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The History of Storytelling in 10 Minutes

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The history of storytelling goes back thousands of years. As generations grow and develop, our daily life and stories turns into another marks on history.

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A Very Brief History of Storytelling - Big Fish Presentations

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Preorder our new book, "The Big Fish Experience" to see everything we've learned over the years, all the resources we use to do what we do, and our tips on how to present experiences. Stories have existed long before recorded ... Continue reading →

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The art of storytelling | Pixar in a Box | Partner content | Khan Academy

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6 tips to implement Show don't tell in your writing

1. Use the character's five senses

Take the reader to the scene through the character's five senses.

Make a list of what the character sees, listen, feels, touch or taste. Then, rewrite the scene using strong verbs (more about this on the next tip)

2. Use strong verbs

Strong verbs are the irregular ones, those that "form the past tense out of their own resources, without calling to their assistance any ending" (source: Garner's Modern American Usage, Bryan Garner, 2016)

They are dynamic and, often, have a connotation of movement, they create a vivid image in the reader's mind.

For instance, the verbs love, hate, believe, belong, live, are static verbs. Unlike the strong verbs: walk, say, sell or think, that implicate an action from the subject.

But this is not a rule to be always employed. Weak verbs are part of the writing, and they have value. However, writing crucial scenes, if you want to create tension or to highlight a scene, make sure to use strong verbs.

3. Avoid adverbs

An adverb is a word that changes the meaning of the verb, adjective or another adverb. Using the previous tip, your verb will annul the need for an adverb.

Adverbs distract the reader of the story, they put you, as a writer, on the scene. It's you who's giving meaning to an action. Moreover, in the story, there's only place for the characters and the reader (you don't belong there).

About the adverbs, Stephen King, in his book On Writing, a memoir of the craft, states:

With adverbs, the writer usually tells us he or she is afraid he/she isn´t expressing himself/herself clearly.

Take this as an example: "Richard walked, slowly, through the avenue."

Including the adverb, I've interfered with your reading. Instead, I could have shown, like this:

"Richard walked on the avenue, he stopped to smell the flowers, he admired the blue sky, smiled at the squirrels, running up the trees."

If Richard were in a hurry, he wouldn't stop to smell the flowers or look at the sky. Being descriptive, I've shown how Richard was calm and walking slow.

Besides, I've also shown that Richard is a person sensitive to nature. If I wanted to let you know that he was angry, I would show him nagging about the children's noise.

Showing a scene, we are, also, allowing the reader to built a profile of the character. By himself, without our interference.

When using adverbs (which is not wrong, only they must be used spaced and only if they give real meaning to the sentence), access its combinations with the verbs.

4. Be specific

The more specific you are in the descriptions, the easier show will be.

Being specific, you'll fill the blank spaces left by your tell, and you'll create a dynamic scene.

Don't spare in the wording; instead, use descriptions to show.

Avoid generic terms: use concrete nouns, that will give the reader an image. If you want to say that that the character has a dog, show it's happiness when his owner gets home.

Again, there's no need for you to apply this rule in every paragraph. Besides the fact that you don't want an exhaustive description, the specificity will increase the wording - find a balance.

5. Use dialogue

Dialogue is the easiest way of showing. Dialogue is action in real time, life occurring in that exact moment, a dialogue is always show.

6. Focus on actions and reactions

Don't tell the traits of the personality of your characters: show them through their actions. Allow the reader to see how the character acts and reacts to the events in the plot. That will reveal his personality.

Instead of saying, "she's a bad woman" describe her kicking a straight dog. You will, immediately, convince the reader that she's not a good person.

Besides, focus on the body language and facial expressions: they are part of how we communicate. When we talk we react, physically. So, the characters should also have that.

In each emotion, we react differently. For instance: I can swallow dry when I'm nervous, but if I'm worried I frown. Be aware of that and describe the character's emotions through their body language.

Conclusion

With practice, show don't tell will become easier, to a point whereas it'll be spontaneous in your writing.

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1. Use the character's five senses Take the reader to the scene through the character's five senses. Make a list of what the character sees, listen, feels, touch or taste.

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What it Means, Why it Matters - and How to Add Drama to Your Novel

"Show Don't Tell" is one of the oldest pieces of advice to new writers, but it can be kinda confusing.

What exactly is the difference between Showing and Telling? And is "Showing" always right? And is Telling always wrong?

As we'll see, "Show, Don't Tell" is good advice in certain circumstances. Not just good advice, in fact, but absolutely essential to any half-decent novel.

At the same time, virtually every novel ever written contains passages that are told, not shown . . . and that's fine. You just have to understand which mode of writing to use where.

These things get confusing when spoken about in the abstract, so we'll use plenty of examples to show you exactly what's what.

Sounds good? Then let's motor.

Make the hardest part of writing easier

Show, Don't Tell: what this actually means

'Don't tell me the moon is shining. Show me the glint of light on broken glass,' Anton Chekhov once advised.

Here's an example of what he means:

Telling:
The night was cold and moonlit. The sleigh moved fast through the forest.

Showing:
Ekaterina was shocked by the cold. She'd known winters before, but never this far north and never this deep. Burrowed under furs as she was, she still felt her eyelashes freeze. There were crystals of ice on her face where her own breath had frozen solid. It was a clear night, and they raced through the whispering pines, like a feather drawn over a sheet of silver. It seemed magical. Impossible. Temporary. Forbidden.

What do you notice?

You'll instantly notice a number of things here.

Telling

Is factual.

Is brief.

Is an efficient way to communicate data.

Prefers to avoid detail, and is happy to convey broad overarching messages. ("It was cold.")

Is not necessarily human-centred, and as a result . . .

Does not, in general, stir the heart.

Showing

Is human-centred (usually, though sometimes only by implication).

Is a slower, richer, more expansive way to communicate.

Is not efficient - quite the reverse!

Loves detail

Tends to place the human subject right at the centre of things, and as a consequence . .

Can often stir the heart.

You want another example? OK, try this:

Telling
The parties were dazzling and opulent. They spilled out of the house, into the garden and even the beach.
Showing
In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars. ... The last swimmers have come in from the beach now and are dressing up-stairs; the cars from New York are parked five deep in the drive ... floating rounds of cocktails permeate the garden outside ... the lights grow brighter as the earth lurches away from the sun, and now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music, and the opera of voices pitches a key higher.

You want to guess which method Scott Fitzgerald used to describe the parties in The Great Gatsby? I'll give you a clue: it wasn't the first of those ways.

One more example - this one a little bit more extended. The example here comes from my own book, The Deepest Grave, which I've chosen just to make the point that these rules and disciplines apply to all of us. To Scott Fitzgerald. To me. To you.

So, here's one more example, as before given in in two possible versions.

Telling
Bowen, Katie and FIona find a sheet of vellum in an old Welsh church.
Showing
Bowen lifts the 1953 fish-restaurant newspaper out of the wooden wall box.

'I suppose that can go.'

He looks glumly at the mess behind the cupboard, knowing that it'll be his job to clean it. Katie looks into the box, now missing its newspaper floor.

Glances once, then looks more sharply.

'No, that's not right,' she says, and starts picking at the bottom with a fingernail.

I already looked under the newspaper and saw just the pale, bleached colour of old pine - pine that has never seen the sun - but that was me being dumb. Me not knowing how to see.

Katie picks at the bottom and it comes away.

A sheet of paper, blank on the upper side, but with writing in clear purplish-black ink on the lower.
Latin text.

A hard-to-read medieval hand.

Bowen stares. I stare. We all stare.

'Katie,' I say, 'This paper? We can get it dated, presumably?'

In the gluey light, she shakes her head.

'No. No, we can't.'

'We can't?'

There's something about this light, this thickened silence which makes everything seem slow, unnatural.

'We can't test this paper, because it isn't paper. It's vellum. A dead sheep, basically, scraped clean and stretched out thin.'

She takes the vellum and places it under the best of the light.

I've given you quite an extended chunk of 'showing' here because quoting at length makes a few further points very clear.

As well as everything we've said so far, Showing:

Is dramatic - it's story told as drama. You could actually imagine the long-form version of the scene above as something played out on a stage or in a movie. Literally every time that you could imagine a piece of writing as a stage or movie play, you are reading something that is shown not told.

Often involves dialogue. It's no coincidence. Movies involve actors saying their lines - and again, literally every time you encounter proper dialogue in a book, you are reading a scene that is shown, not told.

Plays out in real time. Take a look one more time at those two passages just above. The first - basically "three people find vellum" - isn't real time at all. There's no sense of elapsed time there at all. It's told like a news report on CNN or the BBC. In the extended passage - the one from my actual book - you could imagine a clock on the wall, counting out the seconds as the scene elapsed. If you had to make a guess at how long it took from Bowen fishing out the newspaper to Katie finding the vellum, you could actually make a reasonable guess.

These thoughts lead us to the next massive point you have to know about the whole showing / telling thing:

Namely, why people get so obsessed by it.

Show, Don't Tell: Why it matters

People get obsessed with showing vs telling. Here's the reason why.

OK. Here's a question for you:
Why do readers read books?
That's a real question, and you should think about your answer.

If you think about it, you'll probably give me some answer like:
Readers want to get involved in a story. They want to experience emotion through the lives and adventures of fictional characters. They want to get swept up in other people's dramas.
And yes. Exactly.

And to immerse ourselves in the experiences of those characters, we need to feel them as the characters themselves feel them - which is real time, minute by minute.

That's the whole deal right there.

If you want to get your readers emotionally engaged, you have to plunge them into the drama of the moment. It would be no good Jane Austen telling us that "D'Arcy proposed to Lizzy Bennet and Lizzy said no."

The whole reason we read Pride & Prejudice is to be with Lizzy as she experiences that first (awful) proposal. To feel her emotions and reactions almost second by second as she goes through that scene.

Readers always experience the closest emotional contact with their character during scenes that are shown, rather than via facts that are simply reported.

As a matter of fact, I don't particularly like the "Show, Don't Tell" mantra for two reasons, the first of which is that Henry James phrased the whole thing better:

"Dramatise! Dramatise! Dramatise!"

That's so easy and so clear. If you have a patch of writing that seems a little low energy - a little blank, a little dull - then just let those commandments echo in your head.

Are you writing the kind of scene that could appear in a movie? If so, great! Just make the scene better.

Or are you writing the kind of thing that sounds like somebody reporting on a scene that they saw in a movie? In which case, tear up your writing and start again.

If anything important happens in your book, that thing has to be related dramatically. That is, via a scene, told real time, with your characters moving about - talking, acting, reacting, feeling - and experiencing the events moment by moment.

Those scenes are all, always, shown not told.

Those scenes are what keep your readers reading your novel. Your novel should be formed almost completely of such scenes.

By this point, you're probably thinking, "Ah, OK, I've got this. I see why this is so important. I gotta remember never to tell stuff, and always to show stuff."

And that's what some people think. And what some writing tutors teach.

And they're all wrong. Stick with me, and I'll tell you why.

"Show, Don't Tell": Why this rule is sometimes just plain wrong

So far in this post, we've looked at - and preferred - examples of writing that were shown rather than told.

We've said that showing is more dramatic and more engaging. It's the way we plunge our readers into the drama of our story. It's our basic method for getting them to experience the emotions of our characters.

And that's all true. But right at the start of this post, I also said:

Telling

Is factual.

Is brief.

Is an efficient way to communicate data.

And hold on - those things can be good as well as bad, right?

So, sure, if we have some crucial scene - D'Arcy proposing to Lizzy Bennet, or my gang of Bowen, Katie and Fiona finding some vellum in a church - then you have to show that scene, not merely report the action.

But let's say, you have a line in your book that says:

"Years passed and during that time Yulia hardly ever thought of the incident again. It was gone. It belonged in some past life,to some past self. She was busy now with other things. Only then, one bright, clear day in March . . ."

That's telling, right? It's the narrator just reporting stuff, not showing it.

And according to the "Show, Don't Tell" mantra, telling is bad.

BUT IT ISN'T!

Telling is the wrong way to deliver dramatic scenes (which should, of course, compose the vast bulk of your novel), but it can be great way to deliver information that is essential to your story, but of no great dramatic consequence.

So take that "years passed" passage above. How would you even go about showing all that? Would you really have Yulia waking up day after day, month after month, and year after year, NOT thinking about whatever that past incident was?

Sure, that would be showing not telling . . . but you'd be crazy to do it that way. No one ever would.

In short:

If you have essential factual information to deliver, and that information has no dramatic interest in its own right, then just tell it. Don't try to show it, because you'll slow your book right down - and probably kill it.

Showing is for drama (and your book should be mostly drama.)

Telling is for the efficient delivery of all the non-dramatic information your book requires.

The way I usually think about it is that my dramatic scenes are the stones in my wall, but for the wall to hold together, to be intact, it needs a little bit of mortar too. The mortar is the glue that holds all the good stuff together.

Yes, there's a lot more stone than mortar in the wall.

Showing and telling: you always need both.

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Showing and telling: an extended example

How showing and telling work in an actual book

OK. So we know that our scenes are going to be mostly shown: that is, played out real time, with moment-by-moment action and - in most cases - with plenty of dialogue too.

We also know that the reader needs some facts to make sense of the drama, and those facts are most efficiently just told to the reader. Communicated efficiently, without any attempt at drama.

What follows is the opening scene from my book, The Deepest Grave.

This scene - like pretty much any scene in pretty much any book - makes use of both showing and telling. The reader doesn't encounter any big shock as the narration moves from one mode to the other. Quite the opposite: unless you are focusing on the issue specifically, you'd never notice the switch.

So I'm going to leave all the SHOWING text in ordinary script. Anything that is TOLD is written in blue. The bits in square brackets are my explanation to you of what's going on. Obviously (duh!) those square brackety bits don't appear in the actual book.

So, here it is. The opening scene from The Deepest Grave. I've edited the scene lightly, just to make it that bit shorter. The narrator is Fiona Griffiths, a Welsh detective.

Cardiff, March 2016.
Jon Breakell has just completed his chef d'oeuvre, his masterpiece. The Mona Lisa of office art.

The masterpiece in question is a dinosaur made of bulldog clips, twisted biro innards and a line of erasers that Jon has carved into spikes.

'There,' he says.

Stands back. Inspects.

'Do you think it needs claws?' he asks. 'Paperclips maybe?'

He starts to break paperclips into spikes. Tries to figure out the claw conundrum.

Foolish boy. Complacent child.

As Jon-head down, attention buried-works with his paperclips, I get out the Great Crossbow of Doom, as Jon himself christened it. The Great Crossbow involves no fewer than six rubber bands, the really thick, strong sort, and it uses, for its shaft and crosspiece, an entire boxful of pencils taped together. The thing is a bit bendier than it ought to be, but it can still fire the little metal edge-piece stolen from the office whiteboard more than thirty feet across the room, and Jon's desk stands a lot closer than that. [ This is telling. It's Fiona just delivering information essential to the reader's understanding of what's going on.]

He fixes his paperclip spikes into a bulldog clip and gently attaches them to his only slightly tottering dinosaur. There's a moment of serious wobble where it looks like the whole thing might collapse, but Jon adjusts a grip somewhere and the edifice stabilises.

'There!' he says, genuinely proud.

And, fair dos, that pride is justified. This hasn't been the first dinosaur he's constructed, but it's easily the biggest and certainly the best. It's taken him all morning to get this far.

But I am a hunter and my heart has no mercy.

I load the Great Crossbow of Doom and pull it back till the pencils groan against the walls of their sticky tape prison. Jon half-turns to me, wanting, I think, to harvest the praise that is his due.

Turns enough that he sees what happens next.

The Crossbow straining to its uttermost. A quick release. The whiteboard edge-piece flying through the air and striking Jon's tyrannosaur in its unprotected belly. An explosion of metal stationery and spiked erasers. The edge-piece falling to the floor, its deadly mission complete.

'Fi!' says Jon. 'Fuck's sake.'

'It's the Great Crossbow of Doom,' I explain. 'It's doomy.'

'Fuck's sake,' Jon says again, down on his knees now, finding bits of lost tyrannosaur under his desk.

And that's how we are-me, Jon, the bones of the fallen-when Dennis Jackson comes in.

Dennis Jackson, my boss. The detective chief inspector who presides over our happy breed, this little world. A world that is, theoretically, devoted to the investigation and prosecution of major crime, except that the good citizens of Cardiff are too tame, too meek, too unimaginatively law-abiding to generate much crime worthy of the 'major' dignity. [ More information. More telling. The reader needs to know who this new character is, so Fiona just delivers the necessary data.]

'What the bloody hell is going on?'

I twang my crossbow. 'Maintaining order, sir. My duty and my pleasure.'

Jackson bites his thumb. He has the look of a man meditating some tedious comment about how the construction and demolition of dinosaurs is not what Jon and I are paid to do.

He doesn't say that, though even thinking it is tedious.

Instead, he fingers the wodge of paper on my desk. [. . .] He takes a bit of paper from the stack by the printer and fiddles around in my pen-holder mug, one that I was given by the office secret Santa in December. On one side the mug says 'GRAMMAR POLICE' and on the other, 'WARNING. I am silently correcting your grammar.' When I was given the mug, it came with black insulating tape over the word 'silently'.

Jackson finds a biro and scribbles till the ink flows. Then he writes:

16 March, 2016
Gaynor Charteris
RIP

I say, 'Gaynor Charteris. What, a coroner's inquest thing?'

That's not good English-my own internal grammar copper is already stripping down and refitting that sentence-but Jackson knows what I mean. I mean that any unexplained death needs to be examined by a coroner and plenty of those deaths require some form of police involvement, however sketchy. I don't count those things as a proper murder case, however, and Jackson knows it. [ Is this telling? I think it probably is. Again, we're looking at the efficient and swift delivery of information needed by the reader.]

Jackson says, 'Yes, there will need to be a coroner's inquest, of course.'

'OK, let me guess. Some granny slipped on the stairs and we need to confirm there were no suspicious circumstances.'

'Well, I don't yet know much about the incident, but I understand that, yes, there were some circumstances that do possibly seem suspicious.'

My face moves. An involuntary thing. I don't know what it says, what it signifies.

I just about manage to speak, though, and what I find myself saying is, 'Suspicious circumstances, sir? I mean, what? An open window, something missing, that kind of thing?'

'Well, I don't know about the windows. That part hasn't been reported to me. But the uniformed officer currently attending the scene did say that this woman appears to have been beheaded. I daresay there'll need to be some further forensic work needed before we can be certain, but it appears that the weapon of choice was an antique broadsword. It's obviously early days, but I'm going to stick my neck out and say that no, Gaynor Charteris probably did not slip on any stairs. And I'd appreciate it, please, if-Jon, Fiona-the pair of you could act like a pair of grown-up, professional detectives and get your arses over to the scene without fucking anything up or making me want to strangle you.'

He hasn't even finished his speech, before I have my jacket on, bag over my shoulder, keys in my hand.

And there you go.

That balance of showing and telling is pretty much representative of my own books, but also of fiction in general. Nearly every novel you care to read will have a similar balance running through it. (One big exception: literary fiction tends to have much more telling. The telling is elegantly done, however.)

You'll also often find that you tend to get telling at the start of a chapter: information laid down to prepare you for the scene that's about to come. The thin line of mortar needed before you lay the next stone.

So next time you hear "Show, Don't tell", remember:

Yes, you should mostly show stuff - that is, set it out dramatically, as though on a stage or in a movie

Yes, that drama is the essence of all great fiction

But no, the idea you should never tell is just hogwash.

Showing and telling? You need them both. They both have their jobs to do - and now you know what they are, you can be sure of doing them right.
Happy writing, and thanks for stopping by. About the author Harry Bingham has been a professional author for twenty years and more. He's been published by each of the three largest publishers in the world. He's hit bestseller lists, had a ton of critical acclaim, and has been published in the US, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, China, Japan . . . and lots of other places too. His work has been adapted for the screen and he's enjoyed (almost) every minute of his career. (More about Harry, more about his books).
As head of Jericho Writers (and previously the Writers' Workshop), Harry has helped hundreds of people find agents and get published. He'd love it if you were next. ( More about us.)

Make the hardest part of writing easier

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Show Don't Tell: What It Means for You (Examples) - Jericho Writers

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Every writer has been told "Show, Don't Tell", but what exactly does that mean? We tell you exactly what it means and how to apply it - with loads of examples (and one bit of advice you won't read elsewhere.)

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edited and/or translated by

D. L. Ashliman
University of Pittsburgh
© 1996-2022

Return to:

Aesop.

1. Aesop's Fables. Joseph Jacobs' classic retelling of 82 fables and included in theHarvard Classics, vol. 17, part 1. This site is part of Great Books Online:bartleby.com.

2. Aesop's Fables, edited by John R. Long.

3. Aesop's Children. A selection of fables depicting the relationship between children and adults.

4. Old Folks in Aesop's Fables.

Aging and Death in Folklore. An essay by D. L. Ashliman, with supporting texts from proverbs, folktales, and myths from around the world.

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves from the1001 Nights. The classic "Open Sesame" tale (type 676).

1. The Forty Thieves (retold by Andrew Lang).

2. Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (translated by Richard F. Burton).

Amleth, Prince of Denmark, from the Gesta Danorum of Saxo Grammaticus. This account, written about 1185 but based on older oral tradition, describes the same players and events that were immortalized by William Shakespeare in hisThe Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, written about 1602.

Andersen, Hans Christian (1805-1875).

1. Hans Christian Andersen: Fairy Tales and Stories. An excellent home page featuring Denmark's most famous writer. Included here are a chronological listing of Andersen's folk-like fairy tales, electronic texts of most stories, and links to additional information.

2. The H. C. Andersen Home Page. Links to Andersen's works in Danish. This site is sponsored by the Danish Royal Library.

3. H. C. Andersen-Centret, a treasure trove of information (in Danish and in English) from the H. C. Andersen Center in Odense, Denmark.

Androcles and the Lion. Tales of type 156, in which a man pulls a thorn from a lion's paw, thus gaining the beast's eternal gratitude and loyalty.

1. Androcles (Aesop).

2. The Slave and the Lion (Aesop).

3. Androcles and the Lion (Joseph Jacobs).

4. The Lion and the Saint [Saint Jerome] (Andrew Lang).

5. Of the Remembrance of Benefits (Gesta Romanorum).

6. The Lion and the Thorn (Ambrose Bierce).

Asbjørnsen, Peter Christen (1812-1885) and Moe, Jørgen (1813-1882).
Norske Folkeeventyr. The classic collection of Norwegian folktales, here in the Norwegian language.

Bells.
The Bell of Justice. Folktales of type 207C, in which a serpent or an abandoned old horse gains justice by tugging on a bell rope.

1. Of the Vicissitude of Everything Good, and Especially of a Right Justice (Gesta Romanorum).

2. The Emperor Charlemagne and the Serpent (Switzerland).

3. The Bell of Atri (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Tales of a Wayside Inn).

4. The Dumb Plaintiff (Germany).

Beowulf: A Summary in English Prose.

Big Peter and Little Peter, a classic trickster tale of type 1535 from Norway.

The Bird's Three Precepts. Fables of type 150, in which a captured bird gains its freedom by giving its captor three pieces of advice.

1. Of Hearing Good Counsel (Gesta Romanorum).

2. The Three Proverbs (Poland).

The Blind Men and the Elephant. Parables of type 1317.

1. The Blind Men and the Elephant (The Udāna).

2. On the Blind Men and the Affair of the Elephant (Sanai, The Enclosed Garden of the Truth).

3. All Faiths Lead to God: Four Blind Men and an Elephant (Ramakrishna)

4. The Blind Men and the Elephant: A Hindoo Fable (John Godfrey Saxe).

5. The King and the Elephants (Leo Tolstoy).

The Blood Brothers, a European folktale of type 303.

The Blue Light by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm: A Comparison of the Versions of 1815 and 1857.

The Blue Light. Folktales of type 562.

1. The Blue Light (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).

2. The Deserter with the Tinderbox (Austria, J. R. Bünker).

3. The Iron Man (Germany, August Ey).

4. The Three Dogs (Germany, Georg Schambach and Wilhelm Müller).

5. The Soldier and the Tinderbox (Germany, Wilhelm Busch).

6. The Giants and the Tinderbox (Germany, Heinrich Pröhle).

7. The Transverse Flute (Germany, Carl and Theodor Colshorn).

8. The Tinderbox (Denmark, Hans Christian Andersen).

9. Lars, My Lad! (Sweden, G. Djurklo).

10. Sir Buzz (India, Flora Annie Steel).

The Blue Belt. A folktale from Norway, collected in the mid nineteenth century by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe. The magic belt in this tale is reminiscent of the Norse god Thor's belt of strength as described inThe Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson.

Boccaccio, Giovanni (1313-1375).

1. The Decameron Web. Sponsored by the Italian Studies Department at Brown University.

2. The Boy Who Had Never Seen a Woman. Tales of type 1678.

3. The Enchanted Pear Tree. Tales of type 1423.

4. The Three-Ring Parable. Tales of type 920E.

5. Griselda (type 887).

The Boy Who Had Never Seen a Woman. Tales of types 1678 and 1459.

1. Filippo Balducci and His Son (abstracted from The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio).

2. A Young Monk Wanted to Have a Goose (Germany).

3. An Inexperienced Youth (Italy, The Facetiæ of Poggio).

Breaking Wind: Legendary Farts.

1. The Historic Fart (1001 Nights).

2. The Hodja as Envoy to the Kurds (Turkey).

3. How Till Eulenspiegel Became a Furrier's Apprentice (Germany).

4. Till Eulenspiegel and the Innkeeper at Cologne (Germany).

Brothers.
The Blood Brothers, a European folktale of type 303.

The Brothers Who Were Turned into Birds, folktales of type 451.

Cannibalism.
The Place Where There Were No Graves. Folktales about eating dead people.

1. The Place Where There Were No Graves (Egypt).

2. The Country Where Death Is Not (Sudan).

Cattarinetta, a folktale from Italy of type 333A about a careless girl who is eaten up by a witch.

Censorship in Folklore: An Essay by D. L. Ashliman.

Chain tales (also known as cumulative tales).

Changeling legends.
Fairies, trolls, elves, and devils kidnap human children, leaving their own demonic offspring in their place.

1. Changelings: An Essay by D. L. Ashliman.

2. The Changeling. A poem by James Russell Lowell.

3. The Changeling. A ballad by John Greenleaf Whittier.

4. Changeling Legends from the British Isles. Stories from England, Wales, the Isle of Man, Scotland, and Ireland.

5. German Changeling Legends. Stories from German-speaking countries.

6. Scandinavian Changeling Legends. Stories from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, The Faroe Islands, and Iceland.

Chaucer, Geoffrey (ca. 1340-1400).

1. The Enchanted Pear Tree (The Merchant's Tale), a folktale of type 1423.

2. Treasure Finders Murder One Another (The Pardoner's Tale), a folktale of type 763.

Creation and origin myths.

Cupid and Psyche, as recorded by the Roman writer Lucius Apuleius.

Death's Messengers, tales of type 335.

1. Death's Messengers (retold by D. L. Ashliman).

2. Death's Messengers (Hans Wilhelm Kirchhof, Wendunmuth).

3. Death's Messengers (Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm).

4. An Old Man That Was Willing to Put off Death (Laurentius Abstemius).

5. Our Lord and the Church Father (Transylvania).

6. The Old Man and the Physician (Rumi, The Masnavi).

7. Spanish Moss (Georgia, USA).

Death of the Seven Dwarfs, a folk legend from Switzerland with an ending quite different from that of the familiar fairy tale "Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs" by the Grimm brothers.

Devil.

Divination: Charms to Predict Future Bridegrooms and Brides.

1. Saint Andrew's Eve (Germany / Austria).

2. Superstitions (Germany).

3. The Spell (England).

4. Midsummer Superstitious Customs (Cornwall, England).

5. Halloween (Scotland).

6. The Bible and Key Trial (Scotland).

7. Rhamanta, or Romantic Divination (Wales).

8. A Story (Ireland).

9. Hallow-E'n (Ireland).

10. Hallowe'en Customs (Ireland).

Dragon Slayers: An Index Page.

Dream.
Dream Bread. Tales of type 1626.

1. The Three Dreams (Petrus Alphonsi).

2. The Three Travelers (The Masnavi).

3. Jesus, Peter, and Judas (The Toledot Yeshu).

4. Of the Deceits of the Devil (Gesta Romanorum).

5. Comical History of Three Dreamers. (Spain).

6. The "Dream-Bread" Story Once More (USA).

7. The Three Travelers and the Load (W. A. Clouston).

Dream Treasure Turns to Filth. Tales of type 1645b.

1. A Man Who Found Gold During His Sleep (Poggio Bracciolini).

2. The Hodja Dreams That He Had Found a Treasure (Attributed to Nasreddin Hodja).

The Man Who Became Rich through a Dream and other tales of type 1645 in which dreamers seek treasure abroad but find it at home.

1. The Ruined Man Who Became Rich Again Through a Dream (The 1001 Nights).

2. A Man of Baghdad (Persia).

3. Numan's Dream (Turkey).

4. How the Junkman Traveled to Find treasure in His Own Yard (Turkey).

5. The Peddler of Swaffham (England).

6. The Swaffham Legend (England).

7. A Cobbler in Somersetshire (England).

8. Upsall Castle (England).

9. Dundonald Castle (Scotland).

10. Themselves (Isle of Man).

11. Dreaming Tim Jarvis (Ireland).

12. The Bridge of the Kist (Ireland).

13. The Dream of Treasure under the Bridge at Limerick (Ireland).

14. A Kerry Man (Ireland).

15. Treasure at Ardnaveagh (Ireland).

16. Dreams Should Not Be Ignored (Netherlands).

17. The Dream of the Treasure on the Bridge (Germany).

18. The Pine Tree of Steltzen (Germany).

19. Digging Up Snakes (Germany).

20. A Good Dream (Switzerland).

21. The Dream of Treasure (Austria).

22. The Dream of the Zirl Bridge (Austria).

23. The Golden Fox (Czech Republic / Austria).

24. The Church at Erritsø (Denmark).

25. The Treasure in Translet (Denmark).

26. A Peasant in Vester-Brøndum (Denmark).

East of the Sun and West of the Moon. A classic animal bridegroom tale from the Norwegian collection of Asbjørnsen and Moe.

Ertha, the Germanic Earth Goddess. The account, written by Tacitus in the year 98, of a north German deity variously named Ertha, Hertha, Nerthus, or Mother Earth. She may be related to the folkloric figures known as Bertha or Frau Holle.

The Fairy Flag of Dunraven Castle. Legends from the Scottish Isle of Sky about a gift from a fairy lover.

The Faithful Wife. Folktales of type 888.

1. Of Chastity (Gesta Romanorum).

2. The Man Hitched to a Plow (France/Germany).

3. Conrad von Tannenberg (Germany).

4. The Tsaritsa Harpist (Russia).

5. The Lute Player (Russia).

6. A Story Told by a Hindu (India).

7. Link to Andreas Grein of Purbach, a related legend about Turkish slavery from Burgenland, Austria.

Father-daughter incest.
The Father Who Wanted to Marry His Daughter. Folktales of type 510B.

A Fool Does Not Count the Animal He Is Riding. Folktales of type 1288A.

1. The Simpleton with Ten Asses (Turkey).

2. The Hodja and His Eight Donkeys (Turkey).

3. Johha Fails to Count the Donkey He Is Riding (Palestine).

The Fool Whose Wishes All Came True. Folktales of type 675.

1. Hans Dumb (Germany).

2. Stupid Michel (Germany).

3. Lazy Lars, Who Won the Princess (Denmark).

4. Emelyan the Fool (Russia).

5. Halfman (Greece).

6. Juvadi and the Princess (Italy).

7. Peter the Fool (Giovanni Francesco Straparola, The Facetious Nights).

8. Peruonto (Giambattista Basile, The Pentamerone).

Frau Holle by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. A comparison of the versions of 1812 and 1857.

Friday. A Russian folktale of type 779J*.

Fridleif the Dragon Slayer. An account of a Danish hero from theGesta Danorum by Saxo Grammaticus.

The Two Frogs. Fables of types 278A, 278A*, and related tales.

1. Two Neighbour-Frogs (Aesop -- Roger L'Estrange).

2. The Two Frogs Who Were Neighbours (Aesop -- George Fyler Townsend).

3. Two Frogs That Wanted Water (Aesop -- Roger L'Estrange).

4. The Two Frogs (Aesop -- George Fyler Townsend).

5. How a Tortoise Came to Grief Because He Loved His Home Too Much (The Jataka).

6. The Three Fishes (The Masnavi).

Gambara and the Longbeards (Langobards). A clever woman, with the help of the goddess Frea (Frigg), tricks Wodan (Odin) into blessing her tribe with victory.

Gefion's Home Page. This site contains two accounts, both written by Snorri Sturlason, the 13th-century Icelandic writer, describing how the Æsir goddess Gefion (also spelled Gefjon) created the Danish island of Sjælland (Zealand) by plowing out an enormous field from the Kingdom of Sweden.

Ghost Stories

Haunted by the Ghost of a Murdered Child. Migratory legends of type 4025.

1. Mother Mine, in the Fold, Fold (Iceland).

2. I Should Have Gotten Married (Iceland).

3. The Child Murderer (Denmark).

4. The Child Phantom (Sweden).

5. Short-Hoggers o' Whittinghame (Scotland).

6. Fine Flowers in the Valley (Scotland).

7. Lady Anne (Scotland).

8. The Infanticide Mother (England).

9. The Crying Child (Poland).

Real Ghosts and Fake Ghosts. Folktales of types 1676 and 1676B

1. Two Spirits (Belgium).

2. Do Not Disturb the Rest of the Dead (Germany).

3. A Ghostly Council Meeting (Germany).

4. The Death Shroud (Germany).

5. The Scoffer of Herzberg (Germany).

6. The Peasant and the Owls (Germany).

7. The Preacher and the Ghost (Sweden).

8. The Blacksmith (Ireland).

9. A Ghost Story (Ireland).

10. Meg of Meldon (England).

11. The Chivalrous Devil (England).

The Girl with White Hands. A Zobell family legend about Kirstine Andersdatter, also known as Christine Andersen.

Golden Fowls.

1. The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs (Aesop).

2. The Goose and the Golden Eggs (Aesop).

3. The Golden Mallard (from The Jataka; or, Stories of The Buddha's Former Births).

4. The Lucky-Bird Humá (Kashmir).

5. The Duck That Laid Golden Eggs (Russia).

6. The Golden Goose (Germany).

The Golden Key. The Grimm Brothers' final tale, an enigmatic story with no ending, suggesting perhaps that there is no final word in folktale interpretation.

The Grateful Animals and the Ungrateful Man. Fables of type 160.

1. The Grateful Animals and the Ungrateful Man (India, The Panchatantra).

2. The Traveler and the Goldsmith (India, Kalila and Dimna).

3. Story of the Grateful Animals and the Ungrateful Woman (India, The Kathasaritsagara).

4. The Grateful Animals and the Ungrateful Man (Tibet).

5. Vitalis and the Woodcutter (England, attributed to Richard the Lionheart (Richard Coeur de Lion).

6. Of Ingratitude (Gesta Romanorum).

7. Adrian and Bardus (England, John Gower).

Grimm Brothers -- Jacob (1785-1863) and Wilhelm (1786-1859).

1. Grimm Brothers' Home Page.

2. Grimms' Children's and Household Tales. Also known as The Grimms' Fairy Tales, this is the most influential of all folklore collections and one of the most beloved books of all time. At this site are listed all the stories' titles, in English and in German, plus their Aarne-Thompson-Uther type classification numbers. This site also includes links to texts of the Grimms' tales, both in the original German and in English translation.

3. Grimms' Fairy Tales in English. A bibliography of books available without cost on the Internet.

The Lambton Worm. A folk legend from England about a vicious serpent.

The Leprechaun: Ireland's Fairy Shoemaker

1. Variant spellings and designations.

2. Lepreghaun (Lady Morgan Sydney).

3. The Field of Boliauns [Ragweed] (Thomas Crofton Croker).

4. The Little Shoe (Thomas Crofton Croker).

5. Cluricaune or Leprehaune (Thomas Crofton Croker).

6. The Three Leprechauns (Thomas Keightley).

7. The Kildare Lurikeen (Patrick Kennedy).

8. The Leprehaun (Lady Wilde).

9. The Solitary Fairies: Lepracaun, Cluricaun, Far Darrig (William Butler Yeats).

10. The Maker of Brogues (Brampton Hunt).

Lion
The Sick Lion. Fables of type 50 about lions and other powerful animals who are tricked into punishing a physically weaker (but very clever) animal's enemies.

1. The Lion, the Wolf, and the Fox (Aesop).

2. The Lion, Wolf, and Fox (Jean de La Fontaine).

3. The Hyena Outwitted (India).

4. The King of the Tigers Is Sick (Malaya).

Llewellyn and His Dog Gellert and other folktales of type 178A.

1. The Brahman's Wife and the Mongoose (India, The Panchatantra).

2. The Dog and the Snake and the Child (India, The Book of Sindibad)

3. The Brahman's Wife and the Mongoose (India, Georgiana Kingscote).

4. The Greyhound, the Serpent, and the Child (The Seven Wise Masters).

5. Folliculus and His Greyhound (Gesta Romanorum).

6. Beth Gellert (Wales, Joseph Jacobs).

7. The Dog Gellert (Wales, Horace E. Scudder).

8. The Farmer and His Dog (a modern fable).

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth (1807-1882).

1. The Bell of Atri fromTales of a Wayside Inn.

2. Norse Ballads of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

The Challenge of Thor.

Thangbrand the Priest.

The Skeleton in Armor.

Tegner's Drapa [on the death of Balder the Beautiful].

The Magdeburg Bridge -- Die Magdeburger Brücke (a nursery rhyme from Germany, similar to the English "London Bridge Is Falling Down").

Man and Serpent. Fables of type 285D.

1. The Man and the Serpent (Aesop).

2. The Gold-Giving Snake (The Panchatantra).

3. Of Good Advice (Gesta Romanorum).

4. The Rattlesnake's Vengeance (Native American, Cherokee).

Mastermaid (Norway). A masterful telling of a type 313 folktale.

Master Builder Legends.

1. Loki and the Master Builder (From The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson.

2. King Olaf and the Giant (Norway/Sweden).

3. The Giant Finn and Lund's Cathedral (Sweden).

4. Esbern Snare and the Kalundborg Church (Denmark).

5. The Builder Zi (Denmark).

6. Who Built the Reynir Church? (Iceland).

7. The Devil's Church near Dembe (Poland).

8. Why the North Tower of Saint Stephen's Cathedral Remains Unfinished (Austria).

9. The Two Master Builders at Wasserburg (Germany).

10. The Master Builder of the Würzburg Cathedral (Germany).

Melusina (Mélusine, Melusine). Legends about mermaids, water sprites, and forest nymphs and their sensuous relationships with mortal men.

1. The Fair Melusina (Albania).

2. Melusina (France).

3. The Legend of Beautiful Melusina, the Ancestress of Luxembourg Counts (Luxembourg).

4. Melusina -- Soldiers' Legend (Luxembourg).

5. The Mysterious Maiden Mélusine (Luxembourg).

6. Melusina (Germany).

7. Herr Peter Dimringer von Staufenberg (Germany).

8. The Water Maid (Germany).

9. Brauhard's Mermaid (Germany).

10. Melusina (Germany).

Merlin the Magician Rescues King Vortigern: Why the Red Dragon Is the Emblem of Wales (Wales, W. Jenkyn Thomas).

The Merseburg Incantations (Merseburger Zaubersprüche). Two magic poems from pre-Christian Germany.

1. The first poem describes the activities of valkyrie-like sorceresses called "the Idisi" who have the power to bind or to free battling warriors. Following the narrative are the words of a brief incantation or charm chanted to free captured warriors.

2. The second poem tells how a number of goddesses unsuccessfully attempt to cure the injured leg of Balder's horse. Wodan, with his unfailing magic, knows the right charm, and the horse is healed. The narrative concludes with the actual words of an incantation used to heal broken limbs. This pre-Christian incantation is similar to charms against sprains recorded in Ireland and in the Orkney and Shetland Islands in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The Monkey's Heart. Folktales of type 91, in which a captive animal rescues itself by claiming to have left its heart (or other tasty organ) at home.

1. The Monkey's Heart (India, Jataka Tales).

2. The Monkey and the Crocodile (India, Suka Saptati; or, Seventy Tales of a Parrot)

3. The Foolish Dragon (China).

4. The Monkey and the Jellyfish (Japan).

5. The Jellyfish and the Monkey (Japan).

6. The Heart of a Monkey (Africa, Swahili).

7. Brother Rabbit and the Gizzard-Eater (African-American, Joel Chandler Harris).

Mother and child.

Mouse, Mice.
The Iron-Eating Mice. Folktales of type 1592.

1. Miracle upon Miracle (India, The Panchantantra).

2. The Mice That Ate an Iron Balance (India, The Kátha Sarit Ságara; or, Ocean of the Streams of Story).

3. The Iron Weights and Scales Which Were Eaten by Mice (India, The "Suka Saptati," or, The Seventy Tales of Parrot.

4. The Faithless Depositary (France, Jean de La Fontaine).

5. The Two Merchants (Russia, Leo Tolstoy).

Return to: Revised October 3, 2022.

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page 1edited and/or translated by D. L. Ashliman University of Pittsburgh © 1996-2022 Return to: Aesop. Aesop's Fables. Joseph Jacobs' classic retelling of 82 fables and included in theHarvard Classics, vol. 17, part 1. This site is part of Great Books Online:bartleby.com. Aesop's Fables, edited by John R. Long. Aesop's Children.

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Icebreakers that Rock | Cult of Pedagogy

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Too many classroom icebreakers require students to take big social risks with people they barely know. Or they don’t really help students get to know each other. Or they are just plain cheesy.

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"Those who tell the stories rule the world." This proverb, attributed to the Hopi Indians, is one I wish I'd known a long time ago, because I would have used it when teaching my students the craft of storytelling. With a well-told story we can help a person see things in an entirely new way. We can forge new relationships and strengthen the ones we already have. We can change a law, inspire a movement, make people care fiercely about things they'd never given a passing thought.

But when we study storytelling with our students, we forget all that. Or at least I did. When my students asked why we read novels and stories, and why we wrote personal narratives and fiction, my defense was pretty lame: I probably said something about the importance of having a shared body of knowledge, or about the enjoyment of losing yourself in a book, or about the benefits of having writing skills in general.

I forgot to talk about the power of story. I didn't bother to tell them that the ability to tell a captivating story is one of the things that makes human beings extraordinary. It's how we connect to each other. It's something to celebrate, to study, to perfect. If we're going to talk about how to teach students to write stories, we should start by thinking about why we tell stories at all. If we can pass that on to our students, then we will be going beyond a school assignment; we will be doing something transcendent.

Now. How do we get them to write those stories? I'm going to share the process I used for teaching narrative writing. I used this process with middle school students, but it would work with most age groups.

A Note About Form: Personal Narrative or Short Story?

When teaching narrative writing, many teachers separate personal narratives from short stories. In my own classroom, I tended to avoid having my students write short stories because personal narratives were more accessible. I could usually get students to write about something that really happened, while it was more challenging to get them to make something up from scratch.

In the "real" world of writers, though, the main thing that separates memoir from fiction is labeling: A writer might base a novel heavily on personal experiences, but write it all in third person and change the names of characters to protect the identities of people in real life. Another writer might create a short story in first person that reads like a personal narrative, but is entirely fictional. Just last weekend my husband and I watched the movie Lion and were glued to the screen the whole time, knowing it was based on a true story. James Frey's book A Million Little Pieces sold millions of copies as a memoir but was later found to contain more than a little bit of fiction. Then there are unique books like Curtis Sittenfeld's brilliant novel American Wife, based heavily on the early life of Laura Bush but written in first person, with fictional names and settings, and labeled as a work of fiction. The line between fact and fiction has always been really, really blurry, but the common thread running through all of it is good storytelling.

With that in mind, the process for teaching narrative writing can be exactly the same for writing personal narratives or short stories; it's the same skill set. So if you think your students can handle the freedom, you might decide to let them choose personal narrative or fiction for a narrative writing assignment, or simply tell them that whether the story is true doesn't matter, as long as they are telling a good story and they are not trying to pass off a fictional story as fact.

Here are some examples of what that kind of flexibility could allow:

A student might tell a true story from their own experience, but write it as if it were a fiction piece, with fictional characters, in third person.

A student might create a completely fictional story, but tell it in first person, which would give it the same feel as a personal narrative.

A student might tell a true story that happened to someone else, but write it in first person, as if they were that person. For example, I could write about my grandmother's experience of getting lost as a child, but I might write it in her voice.

If we aren't too restrictive about what we call these pieces, and we talk about different possibilities with our students, we can end up with lots of interesting outcomes. Meanwhile, we're still teaching students the craft of narrative writing.

A Note About Process: Write With Your Students

One of the most powerful techniques I used as a writing teacher was to do my students' writing assignments with them. I would start my own draft at the same time as they did, composing "live" on the classroom projector, and doing a lot of thinking out loud so they could see all the decisions a writer has to make.

The most helpful parts for them to observe were the early drafting stage, where I just scratched out whatever came to me in messy, run-on sentences, and the revision stage, where I crossed things out, rearranged, and made tons of notes on my writing. I have seen over and over again how witnessing that process can really help to unlock a student's understanding of how writing actually gets made.

A Narrative Writing Unit Plan

Before I get into these steps, I should note that there is no one right way to teach narrative writing, and plenty of accomplished teachers are doing it differently and getting great results. This just happens to be a process that has worked for me.

Step 1: Show Students That Stories Are Everywhere

Getting our students to tell stories should be easy. They hear and tell stories all the time. But when they actually have to put words on paper, they forget their storytelling abilities: They can't think of a topic. They omit relevant details, but go on and on about irrelevant ones. Their dialogue is bland. They can't figure out how to start. They can't figure out how to end.

So the first step in getting good narrative writing from students is to help them see that they are already telling stories every day. They gather at lockers to talk about that thing that happened over the weekend. They sit at lunch and describe an argument they had with a sibling. Without even thinking about it, they begin sentences with "This one time..." and launch into stories about their earlier childhood experiences. Students are natural storytellers; learning how to do it well on paper is simply a matter of studying good models, then imitating what those writers do.

So start off the unit by getting students to tell their stories. In journal quick-writes, think-pair-shares, or by playing a game like Concentric Circles, prompt them to tell some of their own brief stories: A time they were embarrassed. A time they lost something. A time they didn't get to do something they really wanted to do. By telling their own short anecdotes, they will grow more comfortable and confident in their storytelling abilities. They will also be generating a list of topic ideas. And by listening to the stories of their classmates, they will be adding onto that list and remembering more of their own stories.

And remember to tell some of your own. Besides being a good way to bond with students, sharing your stories will help them see more possibilities for the ones they can tell.

Step 2: Study the Structure of a Story

Now that students have a good library of their own personal stories pulled into short-term memory, shift your focus to a more formal study of what a story looks like.

Use a diagram to show students a typical story arc like the one below. Then, using a simple story-like this Coca Cola commercial -fill out the story arc with the components from that story. Once students have seen this story mapped out, have them try it with another one, like a story you've read in class, a whole novel, or another short video.

Step 3: Introduce the Assignment

Up to this point, students have been immersed in storytelling. Now give them specific instructions for what they are going to do. Share your assignment rubric so they understand the criteria that will be used to evaluate them; it should be ready and transparent right from the beginning of the unit. As always, I recommend using a single point rubric for this.

Step 4: Read Models

Once the parameters of the assignment have been explained, have students read at least one model story, a mentor text that exemplifies the qualities you're looking for. This should be a story on a topic your students can kind of relate to, something they could see themselves writing. For my narrative writing unit (see the end of this post), I wrote a story called "Frog" about a 13-year-old girl who finally gets to stay home alone, then finds a frog in her house and gets completely freaked out, which basically ruins the fun she was planning for the night.

They will be reading this model as writers, looking at how the author shaped the text for a purpose, so that they can use those same strategies in their own writing. Have them look at your rubric and find places in the model that illustrate the qualities listed in the rubric. Then have them complete a story arc for the model so they can see the underlying structure.

Ideally, your students will have already read lots of different stories to look to as models. If that isn't the case, this list of narrative texts recommended by Cult of Pedagogy followers on Twitter would be a good place to browse for titles that might be right for your students. Keep in mind that we have not read most of these stories, so be sure to read them first before adopting them for classroom use.

Step 5: Story Mapping

At this point, students will need to decide what they are going to write about. If they are stuck for a topic, have them just pick something they can write about, even if it's not the most captivating story in the world. A skilled writer could tell a great story about deciding what to have for lunch. If they are using the skills of narrative writing, the topic isn't as important as the execution.

Have students complete a basic story arc for their chosen topic using a diagram like the one below. This will help them make sure that they actually have a story to tell, with an identifiable problem, a sequence of events that build to a climax, and some kind of resolution, where something is different by the end. Again, if you are writing with your students, this would be an important step to model for them with your own story-in-progress.

Step 6: Quick Drafts

Now, have students get their chosen story down on paper as quickly as possible: This could be basically a long paragraph that would read almost like a summary, but it would contain all the major parts of the story. Model this step with your own story, so they can see that you are not shooting for perfection in any way. What you want is a working draft, a starting point, something to build on for later, rather than a blank page (or screen) to stare at.

Step 7: Plan the Pacing

Now that the story has been born in raw form, students can begin to shape it. This would be a good time for a lesson on pacing, where students look at how writers expand some moments to create drama and shrink other moments so that the story doesn't drag. Creating a diagram like the one below forces a writer to decide how much space to devote to all of the events in the story.

Step 8: Long Drafts

With a good plan in hand, students can now slow down and write a proper draft, expanding the sections of their story that they plan to really draw out and adding in more of the details that they left out in the quick draft.

Step 9: Workshop

Once students have a decent rough draft-something that has a basic beginning, middle, and end, with some discernible rising action, a climax of some kind, and a resolution, you're ready to shift into full-on workshop mode. I would do this for at least a week: Start class with a short mini-lesson on some aspect of narrative writing craft, then give students the rest of the period to write, conference with you, and collaborate with their peers. During that time, they should focus some of their attention on applying the skill they learned in the mini-lesson to their drafts, so they will improve a little bit every day.

Topics for mini-lessons can include:

How to weave exposition into your story so you don't give readers an "information dump"

How to carefully select dialogue to create good scenes, rather than quoting everything in a conversation

How to punctuate and format dialogue so that it imitates the natural flow of a conversation

How to describe things using sensory details and figurative language; also, what to describe...students too often give lots of irrelevant detail

How to choose precise nouns and vivid verbs, use a variety of sentence lengths and structures, and add transitional words, phrases, and features to help the reader follow along

How to start, end, and title a story

Step 10: Final Revisions and Edits

As the unit nears its end, students should be shifting away from revision, in which they alter the content of a piece, toward editing, where they make smaller changes to the mechanics of the writing. Make sure students understand the difference between the two: They should not be correcting each other's spelling and punctuation in the early stages of this process, when the focus should be on shaping a better story.

One of the most effective strategies for revision and editing is to have students read their stories out loud. In the early stages, this will reveal places where information is missing or things get confusing. Later, more read-alouds will help them immediately find missing words, unintentional repetitions, and sentences that just "sound weird." So get your students to read their work out loud frequently. It also helps to print stories on paper: For some reason, seeing the words in print helps us notice things we didn't see on the screen.

To get the most from peer review, where students read and comment on each other's work, more modeling from you is essential: Pull up a sample piece of writing and show students how to give specific feedback that helps, rather than simply writing "good detail" or "needs more detail," the two comments I saw exchanged most often on students' peer-reviewed papers.

Step 11: Final Copies and Publication

Once revision and peer review are done, students will hand in their final copies. If you don't want to get stuck with 100-plus papers to grade, consider using Catlin Tucker's station rotation model, which keeps all the grading in class. And when you do return stories with your own feedback, try using Kristy Louden's delayed grade strategy, where students don't see their final grade until they have read your written feedback.

Beyond the standard hand-in-for-a-grade, consider other ways to have students publish their stories. Here are some options:

Stories could be published as individual pages on a collaborative website or blog.

Students could create illustrated e-books out of their stories.

Students could create a slideshow to accompany their stories and record them as digital storytelling videos. This could be done with a tool like Screencastify or Screencast-O-Matic.

So this is what worked for me. If you've struggled to get good stories from your students, try some or all of these techniques next time. I think you'll find that all of your students have some pretty interesting stories to tell. Helping them tell their stories well is a gift that will serve them for many years after they leave your classroom. ♦

Want this unit ready-made?

If you're a writing teacher in grades 7-12 and you'd like a classroom-ready unit like the one described above, including slideshow mini-lessons on 14 areas of narrative craft, a sample narrative piece, editable rubrics, and other supplemental materials to guide students through every stage of the process, take a look at my Narrative Writing unit. Just click on the image below and you'll be taken to a page where you can read more and see a detailed preview of what's included.

Come back for more.
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A Step-by-Step Plan for Teaching Narrative Writing

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The ability to tell a good story is one of the things that makes human beings extraordinary. Here's the process I used to teach my own students how to do it.

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Lives

Image

Credit Credit Illustration by Melinda Josie

It happened so fast: One moment I was running trails, the next I was staring a black-bear sow in the face, so close I could smell it, wild and pungent and alarming, and I knew it could smell me, too, my fear.

I was in the middle of a rainy 22-mile run in Far North Bicentennial Park on the outskirts of Anchorage, where I live. It was late July, a time when grizzlies sweep down from the mountains to feast on the red-flecked salmon swimming up Campbell Creek. But I was miles from the water. I had planned my route away from the creek, and I hadn't seen bear scat in more than an hour. As I crested a hill, a crash sounded from my right, and I instinctively moved to the left, expecting a moose. But it was the sow with three cubs. The cubs fled up a tree. The sow paused in front of me, as if waiting.

I backed into the brush, fortifying myself behind a skinny grove of alder trees, moving slowly, carefully, never taking my eyes off the bear. When it veered as if to leave I felt such relief that my throat loosened and small gasps escaped my lips. Then it abruptly turned and charged directly at me.

It's impossible to run the trails around Alaska without thinking about bears. There are piles of scat everywhere, dotted with blueberry and cranberry seeds that glint in the sun, reminders that you have to be careful. You have to be versed in bear awareness, bear etiquette and bear protocol. Headphones are a no-no and going alone is discouraged. Making noise and carrying bear spray is recommended.

Still, I often ran alone. I preferred it that way. I liked the serenity and the loneliness, liked the hours of nothing but me and the mountains and the trees. That day, I wore a bear bell attached to my hydration pack, and I sang, too, whenever I came to dense areas. I sang old rock 'n' roll songs, loudly and badly. I was cautious but not afraid. I ran these trails all summer and the summer before, and while I saw bears on many other trails, I only twice saw them on these sections.

Maybe I let down my guard. Maybe I felt invincible, the way you feel when you repeat risky behavior without negative results. Maybe the bear was having a bad day.

When the bear charged, time stood still. I felt every millisecond. I stood in the drizzle, rain coating my face like tears, and I did what they tell you to do if a black bear charges: I waved my arms and yelled.

"I'm human!" I cried, my voice rising through the birch trees, through that silent and never-ending moment. "I'm a person!"

The bear paused and ran back toward the brush. A minute later, it charged a second time. And again I waved my arms and yelled and again it stopped, this time so close I could almost reach out and touch its snout. I couldn't breathe, couldn't swallow. I wondered, briefly and almost idly, if this was how I would die. Suddenly, I wanted to talk to my son, who was grown and off living his own life. I wanted to hear his voice.

A lifetime later, the bear turned and ran off, its backside swaying into the trees. I had to get back to the trail, to the possibility of safety, yet I couldn't step away from the alders. It was my only protection.

That's when the bear began circling around me in a wide arc. That's when I knew I was in trouble, became really afraid.

When my son was young and nothing would comfort him, I would talk. It didn't matter what I said, he needed my voice, the steady flow of words. As I stepped from the shelter of the alders, I talked out loud, my voice surprisingly calm. I talked to the bear to show that I meant no harm, but mostly I talked to reassure myself. As the bear circled for a second time, I stumbled through devil's club, snagging my shorts and scratching my legs, and I talked about the day my son was born, how I recognized his face immediately.

When I reached the trail, I kept talking. The bear followed, but I didn't look back. A half a mile later, I glanced over my shoulder, and the bear was gone. I started running and didn't stop until I encountered two hikers, and I collapsed at their feet.

For weeks I saw that bear's face in my dreams, and I woke up, heart pounding. I swore I would never run trails again, but I missed it too much, and soon I was out with the trees and that big, big sky. Some things are worth the risk, though I made sure to carry a canister of bear spray, just in case.

And sometimes even now when I'm running, I think of that bear charging and how I stood there, so still and yet so alive. It opened something inside of me that can never be closed. It offered a taste of the unknown: At any time I might find myself crouched in the brush, face to face with my own fragile existence. So much of life is chance. There are no guarantees. But there are vast landscapes and dangers and wild moments of good luck.

Cinthia Ritchie, 57, is a freelance writer, an ultrarunner and the author of the novel "Dolls Behaving Badly." Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has appeared in the Best American Sports Writing series.
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Lives It happened so fast: One moment I was running trails, the next I was staring a black-bear sow in the face, so close I could smell it, wild and pungent and alarming, and I knew it could smell me, too, my fear.

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Theory PPT on how to write a good personal narrative

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Personal Narrative Essay: Show, Don't Tell the Body

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true stories told live storytelling "the moth" podcast npr moth radio hour "the moth podcast" "the moth radio hour" "moth storyslam" storyslam grandslam "mot...

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The Moth is a nonprofit dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. Since launching in 1997, The Moth has presented over 40,000 true personal stories, told live, without notes, to standing-room-only audiences around the globe. The Moth produces approximately 600 live shows each year in 28 cities worldwide.

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How to Tell a Story in English - Using Past Tense

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Kevin Hart's 3 Secrets To Hilarious Storytelling

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Influential presentations make an impact - on an individual, on an audience, on a global scale. Styles, voices, and content might vary, but the inspirational nature of the presentations are the same. They all introduce something influential. An idea to change an attitude. An organization to change lives. A product to change the world.

What makes a presentation influential?

The 6 Principles of Influence provides guidelines that you can indeed learn and follow to create a successful presentation. Various other theories also outline a formula. The most powerful presentations, however, are simply inspired. They capture the audience, whether through great presenters or great ideas -usually both. Read ahead for some of our all time favourites.

Sheryl Sandburg - Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders

Many of the most influential presentations of all time are TED talks. The central principle, "ideas worth spreading," inspires every word and every speaker. They are extremely popular and free to watch online, meaning the concepts resonate with billions of people worldwide. We've created a quick guide on how to use TED talks presentations when building your next presentation.

Over seven million people have viewed this particular presentation by Sheryl Sandburg. It addresses the big issue of the small percentage of women leaders in business and other professions. That's seven million people inspired by the endorsement of female empowerment - seven million people being influenced by a single presentation.

Eric Schmidt - How Google Works

"How Google Works" is a favorite presentation on the popular platform, SlideShare. Its influence comes from its creator, Eric Schmidt, former CEO and Executive Chairman at Google. Honest advice from a top company leader has inspired millions of business people, especially those beginning their own start-up.

It demonstrates the potential of PowerPoint presentations - even without a live speaker. Its simple yet engaging nature reveals some of the best and most creative methods of presenting: short pieces of text, a comic book story, and colorful illustrations.

Steve Jobs - Introducing the Macintosh

One of the most influential presentations of all time famously revealed the breakthrough invention of Steve Jobs, when he introduced the Macintosh in 1984. It was the first personal computer product of Apple and would go on to prove the potential of PCs and encourage the promising results of the company.

The presentation itself was also inspiring. Steve Jobs had gambled with his career for this creation. After years of hard work, he was finally instigating the huge step forwards into the modern technological era - and he presented it all in an original and engaging manner.

Steve Jobs - Introducing the iPhone

Jump forward 23 years, and Steve Jobs continues to influence modern technology with the introduction of the iPhone in 2007. This presentation revealed one of the most influential products of all time. It redefined the way we communicate in daily life. It also established Apple as the leading company of modern technology and secured Steve Job's reputation as a top CEO of all time.

In this famous keynote speech, Jobs declared a futuristic vision that seemed farfetched to many - a handheld computer to fit in your pocket. Yet with the unveiling of the iPhone 7 less than a decade later, this vision has proved entirely possible. He hooks his audience, not only through an incredible product but also through a visually engaging and captivating style.

Tony Robbins - The Power of Beliefs

In "The Power of Beliefs," Robbins uses the single simple tool of a whiteboard and pen. He primarily captivates listeners through body language; using active gestures and confident speech.

As with Ted talks, Robbins has popularized motivational presentations. No longer limited to business people and professionals, everybody can value his advice and apply it to an aspect of their life. He has created various influential presentations, but his innovative presentational style is the most influential of all.

Dan Pink - The Puzzle of Motivation

Dan Pinks' presentation, "The Puzzle of Motivation," is within the top ten most viewed Ted talks. By reaching 18 million people, he has inspired change in business minds all over the world. His fresh ideas can influence the whole structure of a company, including incentives and the motivation of employees.

Through a refusal to conform to traditional reward systems, he instead endorses a new emphasis on intrinsic motivation. By listening to the personal stories of employees, businesses can succeed through individual incentives from within - ultimately benefiting everybody.

Gavin McMahon - 22 Rules to Phenomenal Storytelling

Pixar's 22 Rules to Phenomenal Storytelling from Gavin McMahon

The most influential presentations not only inspire the business minds of people but the creative and playful mind too. Pixar's presentation, "22 Rules to Phenomenal Storytelling", appeals to both. Differing text styles and cheerful illustrations encapsulate a unique and memorable personality.

This presentation promises inspiration in writers and creatives world-wide. It provides valuable and applicable advice from Pixar itself - probably the most successful storytelling company of all time.

Scott Harrison - Charity: Water Presentation

What could be more influential than introducing a whole new attitude and approach to charity? This is exactly what Scott Harrison does when promoting his organization, Charity: Water. Through an emotional and honest speech, he inspires empathy and generosity in his audience.

He creates a presentation to inspire change using strong visuals, shocking images, and heart-wrenching videos. Such influential speeches have worked - since 2007, Harrison has helped raise over $100 million for Charity: Water.

Empowered Presentations - Smoke, a Convenient Truth

SMOKE - The Convenient Truth [1st place Worlds Best Presentation Contest] by Empowered Presentations from Empowered Presentations

"Smoke, a Convenient Truth" has a simple style, with a passionate purpose and active message. In 2010, it became first place winner of the World's Best Presentation Contest. Like all the best presentations, this PowerPoint told a story. It also kept one idea to each slide and used powerful visuals.

Highlighting real yet mind-blowing statistics about the health dangers of smoking, it forcefully criticizes the cigarette industry. The message reached millions of people, supporting anti-smoking campaigns throughout the world.

Amy Tan - Where Does Creativity Hide?

Amy Tan's style is similar to other great speakers as she utilizes strong images, humor and a storytelling voice. However, this presentation is unique as, rather than presenting us with a whole and complete idea, she inspires questions into the mind of her audience. Following her personal story, we are drawn into a broad and influential question: what is creativity? And how can I access it within myself? Sometimes the most influential presentations pose a question, not an answer.

Go ahead and take inspiration from this list of successful presenters. Learn through example and create your own influence through the power of presentations.

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The top 10 most influential presentations even given

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Influential presentations make an impact - on an individual, on an audience, on a global scale. Styles, voices, and content might vary, but the inspirational nature of the presentations are the same. They all introduce something influential. An idea to change an attitude. An organization to change lives.

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The mystery of storytelling: Julian Friedmann at TEDxEaling

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The magical science of storytelling | David JP Phillips | TEDxStockholm