How to Use Different Storytelling Mediums to Enhance Your Writing

How to Use Different Storytelling Mediums to Enhance Your Writing

Hi, there! Welcome to the final installment of the #storytellingshift series. In this series, I teach fellow writers how to become storytellers, starting with the key to unlocking endless inspiration. If you're feeling a bit lost and are wondering what the difference is between a writer and a storyteller, jump back to the beginning of the series, where I define the difference for you.

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How to Assess Your Story’s Strengths

How to Assess Your Story’s Strengths

Hi, there! Welcome back to the #StorytellingShift series where I walk fellow writers through the process of learning how to become storytellers. If you're not sure what going from a writer to a storyteller means, hop on over to my first post in the series where I introduce the key to unlocking endless storytelling inspiration as well as the main premise behind the great #StorytellingShift.

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Ten Tools to Help Change How You Think About Storytelling

Ten Tools to Help Change How You Think About Storytelling

Hi, there! Welcome back to the #StorytellingShift series where I walk fellow writers through the process of learning how to become storytellers. If you're not sure what going from a writer to a storyteller means, hop on over to my first post in the series where I introduce the key to unlocking endless storytelling inspiration as well as the main premise behind the great #StorytellingShift!

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The Key to Unlocking Endless Storytelling Inspiration

The Key to Unlocking Endless Storytelling Inspiration

In this four-week series, #StorytellingShift,  I'll be guiding you through the process of redefining how you perceive what it means to be a storyteller and how to change the way you approach future ideas so that you're never short of inspiration and new approaches to a project. Below you'll find a brief outline detailing everything you'll learn throughout the next four posts:

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Small Town World Building With Jacquelyn Eubanks

Small Town World Building With Jacquelyn Eubanks

Small towns are a classic literary setting, making appearances in all types of genres and forms. Maycomb County from To Kill a Mockingbird, Bedford Falls from It’s a Wonderful Life, Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls – all dreamy little towns that have become staples of the American image. You could even argue that fantasy has its share of small towns – the Shire from Lord of the Rings immediately comes to mind.

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Five A24 Films to Inspire Your Novel

Five A24 Films to Inspire Your Novel

With this year's Moonlight win at the Oscars, a lot of big things happened. The primary thing most people are talking about is how monumental Moonlight's win is for people of color. It's rare to see a movie about a black gay man get much recognition and for it to win best picture is a huge achievement. However, in addition to the social progress, Moonlight's win speaks to the underdog of the film industry – the independent film.

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How to Repurpose an Old Story for a New Medium

How to Repurpose an Old Story for a New Medium

I first stumbled on the foundations of my Storytelling Systemwhen I was in college and struggling to make a story work. It was a short film I'd written in my introduction screenwriting course that I was excited about, but every time I wrote it the idea fell flat. There was something missing and off about the story and I could not for the life of me figure out what that was.

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How to Nail Your First Writers' Conference

How to Nail Your First Writers' Conference

This past week I attended my first ever writers' conference – the San Miguel Writers' Conference in Mexico. I was incredibly nervous because while I love workshops and learning and honing in on my craft, the idea of mingling and networking and approaching strangers terrified me, especially because I knew I'd be one of the younger attendees at this conference. But despite that fear, I knew I had to push myself out of my comfort zone as a storyteller and attending a conference was the next step in that direction.

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16 Prompts to Get You Thinking like a Storyteller

16 Prompts to Get You Thinking like a Storyteller

Writing prompts are a fun way to get writing inspiration and beat down writer's block. They're low stress and force you to think in a new way, challenging you and enabling you to find new story ideas. That's why in coordination with my e-course, Swiss Army Storytelling, I've created a list of storytelling prompts to help you not only become a more dynamic storyteller, but also to give you a taste of what you'll find in my course.

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7 Stories from Seven Different Muslim Countries

7 Stories from Seven Different Muslim Countries

As writers our principle form of activism is our voice. To be more specific, the voice of our pen. However, another form of activism - though far more subtle and long-term in its effects - is in the books we choose to read. With every book you buy, you share, and you tell people about, you are saying that more of those books should be read, and marketers and companies will start to follow that over time.

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Using the Stage to Tell a Story

Using the Stage to Tell a Story

Recently I saw the movie Fences in theaters, a film based on the play by August Wilson. Everything about it was working great for me - the plot, the conflicts, the characters, but best of all the performances. Denzel Washington and Viola Davis were outstanding, moving me on so many different levels emotionally I could hardly keep up. However, despite all the things I loved about Fences and how strong the story was, I couldn't help but feel like something was off.

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