Forget your opposable thumbs. What makes you distinctively human is your storytelling. Even if you couldn’t entertain your own family around the dinner table, you tell stories in every moment. You remember stories you call memories. You interpret others’ words and actions, making up stories and believing them. And you invent stories about how you hope or fear everything will all turn out. Maybe you grew up hearing, “Stop that daydreaming!” If you were lucky, you managed to keep creating interior cinema. You are human–a born storyteller.
No matter what you write about, there are stories to tell. Even in nonfiction, there is the backstory of what sparked your passion, or who mentored you, or how you developed your expertise. Or there are stories to illustrate principles you have learned. And for many books, story is everything. That can feel intimidating–to realize that every book requires storytelling skills.
Scott Simon of NPR makes it simple. Here he shares a few trade secrets that make his own reporting so interesting and memorable. Enjoy!
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Text © Gwyn Nichols 2013. All rights reserved. WritersResort.com
Screenshot from YouTube
