A storyteller, though voice and jester, invites people to join him/her on a guided tour of images, the place where a story begins, change happens and where life or someone’s awareness will never again be the same: knowing that the beginning will never be the same as the ending.

1. Choose a story, myth or tale that you love – if you don’t love it, don’t do it. Ask your self, why do I love it? Why is this important for me to tell? What is the most important part of this story to me?

2. If it is a myth or a folktale, then look it up in other sources – book and/or audio. Every storyteller adds his or her own unique style and flavor to a story. This might give you some more ideas as you work up your own version. Try reading it out loud to yourself or to a friend to hear the cantor of the story.

3. Make an outline of the key events. Know your story – never memorize it. Remember every story has a beginning, something that happens that changes everything, now what – how life is different from when the story started.

4. Practice by telling a friend or a family member. The more you tell it in front of others, the better your story becomes. Watch your story grow and come alive as you “listen” to what your audience is hearing.

5. Become familiar with and research key elements in your story – main characters, geographic locations, plants, animals . . . Or try changing the setting or the main character in your story ie, retell it from the mouse’s, wicked step sister’s or tree’s perspective. Maybe the tortoise and the hare decided to race through the plumbing in your school!

6. Review your original sources. It is important to keep the integrity of the storyline.

7. Remember the ending to your story.  That way you know were you are going.

8. Have fun. If you love what your are doing and love your story, your audience will too!

“The mythology of Greece survived for centuries before Gutenberg invented the printing press. To know the stories, one had only to listen to keepers of tales – the storytellers. Today, because we no longer need to rely upon the spoken work to know the stories, we forget that they were vividly entertaining vehicles of culture in a pre-reading era. The best written versions, I believe, remind us once again of the oral power of the ancient myths.” Barbara McBride-Smith in her book Greek Myths Western Style: Toga Tales with an Attitude.

Until next time . . . Let a Storyographer’s Journey Begin!