Storyteller's Guide (American Storytelling) (Paperback)

~ Bill Mooney (Author)
Key Phrases: wimpy story, beginning storyteller, new storytellers, Milbre Burch, Bill Harley, David Novak (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Ask a storyteller a question and in response you get a story. The interviews in this handbook are packed with well-chosen anecdotes, metaphors, and parables illuminating the art of storytelling as it is practiced today in many varied settings. Rather than representing the opinion of a single author, this comprehensive guide to storytelling features interviews with more than 50 storytellers, including teachers, librarians, authors, musicians, actors, clergymen, and full time professionals.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: August House (November 25, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874834821
• ISBN-13: 978-0874834826
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #118,840 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Keep Looking, April 3, 2001

By	Brian Acord "b" (Salt Lake City, Utah) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While there are some interesting insights shared by various professional storytellers it does little to actually help you understand the topics listed in its Table of Contents. For each chapter you have a dozen or so experts answer some pretty basic questions in a paragraph or two.

Instead of providing provocative insights into the interesting world of storytelling, this book is actually more of a collection of one-paragraph answers to very general topics. They don't provide enough detail, insightful hints, or strangely enough, even good stories behind their explanations.

Rather than leveraging the experiences and insights from some great storytellers, this text instead provides common sense answers to overly general questions. In the chapter titled "Getting Started" you are told by 17 experts that the best way to get started telling stories is to tell stories...and that's about it. In the chapter "Making a Story your Own" you are essentially told by 16 experts that you should tell the same story alot and try to tweak it to fit you.

Overall, if you are looking for a good source of insight into how to tell a tale, you should probably keep looking.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Storytelling as an art form, October 10, 2004

By	Harold McFarland (Florida) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

If you are new to the art of storytelling or want to move your craft up a notch The Storyteller's Guide could be the advice you are looking for. The authors take 21 of the most common questions about storytelling and provide answers and advice from some of the most preeminent storytellers of today. Some of the questions include "How Do I Get Started?", "How Do I Find the Right Stories?", "How Do I Create Stories from True-Life Events?", "How Do I Create Original Stories?", "How Do I Market Myself?", and "What Are the Copyright Laws Concerning Storytelling?". In addition to the authors' comments each question typically has thirteen or more comments from other professionals. Most chapters also have a list of additional resources and a summary of the important points of the chapter. The Storyteller's Guide is a recommended read for anyone who wants to get started in this art form.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a must-read if you want to try your hand at storytelling, December 4, 2000

By A Customer

All my friends who are working to become better storytellers swear by this handbook. It includes interviews with fifty of the best-known professional storytellers in the USA today. I have heard many of them at large national and regional festivals myself and would follow their advice. This book came to my attention through very positive reviews in library magazines, but it has been recommended to me by storytellers famous and unknown.