A Concise handbook of Storytelling

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STORY TELLING
A CONCISE HANDBOOK ON STORY TELLING
'Anyone can write an Interesting Story'
Dos Don'ts of Story Telling
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Born in 1947 in a middle class family of
educationists, he grew up in a literary
environment. His father was a scholar and a
writer who taught Bengali literature in an
eminent university as the Head of Department. His
maternal grandfather and an uncle were also
renowned professors and authors. He himself did
his masters degree in English literature. But
some other things he has in his genes that he did
not inherit. It is his spirit of adventure and
undying wanderlust. This prompted him to join the
Indian Air Force as a commissioned officer in
1970.
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Gradually the heart starts pounding with a
refrain, will he (or they) be able to make it?
The question echoes continuously in the readers
mind as he turns the pages and the anxiety holds
the reader firmly at the edge. But when the
tension suddenly reaches a critical stage, it
sweeps the reader off his feet, like a deluge.
The Climax where it culminates in a crescendo and
then the reader is softly brought down to the
normal level again. The stories end with a
positive feeling, somewhat like returning home at
the end of the day with the satisfaction of
having a job done well. There is a life-like
quality of the stories since these are all based
on real life incidents. But these are not mere
chronicles or statements of facts. The facts get
intricately interwoven into a tapestry by the
authors deep empathy and vivid imagination. The
author manages to enter into the minds of the
protagonists and skilfully brings out their
internal conflict going on in their minds to
choose between the urge to survive in the face of
danger and call of duty to put the life at stake
to complete his mission. This play of light and
shade in the human psyche endearingly portrays
the protagonists like people made of real flesh
and blood. Resultantly the stories come alive in
three dimensions. Like anywhere else, life in the
military too is not devoid of lighter moments.
The author never fails to identify hilarious
elements in the life in a cantonment and his
strong sense of humour effectively projects the
funny side of a tough looking man in uniform, to
provide occasional comic relief. Presented here
is a mixed bag of adrenalin pumping excitement
and situational comedies - making the anthology
very enjoyable reading.
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(These points relate to verbal story telling only)
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Personal Touch
If the story is told in the first person,
immediately a connection is made between the
audience / reader and the storyteller. Secondly
it adds a ring of authenticity, since the
storyteller is telling himself about his
own/there experience.
Privacy

• If we are bringing in the story / experience of
  any other real person, be very careful to protect
  his privacy and secrets.
• Make sure that you take a formal permission from
  the individual who's story you are telling.

Unimprotant Diversions
Presume that the attention level of the audience
is very limited. During the course of
telling/writing a story, you may be tempted to
divert into a different interesting topics.
Please avoid it. It will make the reader confused
and his attention will be diverted from the main
story.
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Happy Storytelling