Kate Farrell, Storyteller

Story Power: Creating, Crafting, and Telling!

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Story Power: Secrets to Creating, Crafting, and Telling Memorable Stories

Mango Publishing, 2020

Today I am so very grateful to have summited the Final Draft MS for this wonderful book to the editors at Mango!

It is Thanksgiving week and I have a harvest of stories to share! I am thrilled that twenty-two acclaimed authors, memorists, and storytellers contributed their voices to this book with their secrets of the craft and stories, too. It’s a “pinch-me” day! And though there are months before the book is released, here’s a peek at what’s inside:

Reconnect Through Stories

Stories are Everywhere. The art of storytelling has been around as long as humans have. And in today’s noisy, techie, automated world, storytelling is not only prevalent—it’s vital. Whether you’re interested in enlivening conversation, building your business brand, sharing family wisdom, or performing on stage, Story Power will show you how to make use of a good story.

Become an Engaging Storyteller. Storytelling is the most effective way to communicate and to affect change—if you know how to use it. Story Power provides techniques for creating and framing personal stories alongside effective tips for telling them in any setting. Plus, this book models stories with unique storytelling examples, exercises, and prompts, as well as storytelling techniques for delivery in a spontaneous, authentic style.

Learn from the Experts. Story Power is an engaging, lively guide to the art of storytelling from author and librarian Kate Farrell, a seasoned storyteller and founder of the Word Weaving Storytelling Project. In Kate’s book, more than twenty skillful contributors with a range of diverse voices share their secrets to creating, crafting, and telling memorable tales.

If you want to experience the power of storytelling in your life, Story Power is for you. In this book, discover:

  • How to share your own coming-of-age stories and family folklore
  • The importance of a personal branding story and storytelling marketing
  • Seven Steps to Storytelling, along with helpful tools, organizers, and media options

For readers of Storyworthy, The Storyteller’s Secret, and Long Story Short, Story Power is a must-buy.

 

Wonder Woman: Truth Seeker

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0What struck me in watching the tour de force of this summer’s blockbuster season was how puzzled Wonder Woman, Diana Prince, often is. From her earliest childhood, she questions her mother’s authority with mischief and daring. She pesters her queen mother constantly until, with partial answers, Diana finds her true mission of God Killer and wholeheartedly believes the legend about Aries as the only source of evil.

Yet she is perplexed at every step of her journey—as she walks into 20th century England and the battlefields of World War I.

Her confused, penetrating gaze as our chaotic world unfolds in front of her eyes is one I can’t forget. Wonder Woman is full of wonder and bewilderment. The girl she once was resurfaces, the one who questioned and dared—who sought the truth.

13584290_265908347099959_1739541_nAt the movie’s opening scene, Diana reflects on the black and white photo taken in a Belgian town after her first victorious foray with the enemy. She comments (in a voice over) that this was before she knew what she’d since learned: about the darkness in every human. The movie ends by returning to its first scene and that photo as she states what she now knows of us—our dark side that creates evil.

So, to me, the Wonder Woman movie is an inner quest for truth, even though the battle scenes look as though it’s just another “boom, boom, bang, bang” superhero action film. The powerful battle scenes are part of her seeking process, taking on the dark without fear from a position of strength to know it.

When Diana touches the glass of that framed, long-ago photo, she speaks a final truth that every female hero knows: at the heart of all is love.

Gal-Gadot-Wonder-WomanNow that’s a real quest! Brava for Wonder Woman!

The Shadow and the Heroic

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slenderman-urban-legend-2All through my childhood, I read folktales and fairy tales whenever I could. My early years were uncertain; we moved frequently, from place to place, changing towns, states, finding homes in a variety of circumstances. Those ancient stories sustained me, since no matter what the culture or country of origin, they told of a heroic courage that won out in the end, overcoming all wickedness.

In my lifelong research of folklore as a storyteller, I discovered that the great majority of tales do end well. It’s a universal celebration of the human spirit, the ability to persist against the demonic, the terrifying, the shadow side of our psyche.  

So, I appreciate modern fabulism that holds true to this universal narrative, that answers a primal need in the reader: to find a way out through inner worth and commitment, tapping into the core values that make our world whole. Neil Gaiman’s work is often like that. Coraline certainly enters a dark, shadow world, almost exactly parallel to her own. But she finds her way back from “Other Mother” through the use of a talisman, her love of her family, and her wits.

While prize-winning authors, Karen Russell and Kelly Link write fabulist stories with motifs found in folktales, myth, and legend, they often leave us in the dark–with the shadow. I admire their artistry that keeps us there, somehow comfortable in a nightmare landscape.

2016-New-Fashion-Teen-Girls-Adjustable-Snapback-Mesh-Trucker-Baseball-Cap-Hat-Caps-Hats-MulticolorsBut today I see a need for fabulist stories of empowerment, especially for young women. Not the overdrawn stereotypes of Wonder Woman and female superheroes who fight perilous battles with super powers and aggressive weaponry, but stories that depict everyday female characters who succeed with a magical, inner courage. They confront the shadow that is in front of them, the obstacles that keep them powerless–they emerge heroic.

The oldest stories are multi-dimensional: they move back and forth between worlds. How compelling to use ancient motifs in modern settings to empower and entertain. Woman Wonder Tales seek that journey.