Storytelling: Woolgathering 1.5- Begin again

-->Woolgathering: 1. 5 Begin again

by Norah Dooley
Theory and Practice for Storytelling as a 21st Century Skill

Starting our story from a different perspective can help us see new aspects of our experience or a story's structure or it's deeper meaning. We want our story to get better and better with repeated telling. And usually a story will, if we listen to ourselves as we tell. And revise our work.  A fun way to accelerate the process of refining a story through retelling is to try some new beginnings.

Exercises 1.5: Begin Again

Beginnings: start again Try a new beginning for your story:

1.    Start with a sound, a sight, a smell or a taste that describes the place

2.    Start with a sound, a sight, a smell or a taste that describes a character

3.    Start with a sound, a sight, a smell or a taste that describes the time

4.    Start describing some action – major or minor – that shows setting

5.    Start a dialogue between 2 main characters.

6.    Write the inner monologue (thoughts) of a main character.

7.    Make —a statement … you might begin with a sentence that starts with—“Usually...” or “They say... “ All X are Y or so I thought but/and...” or “She always believed that...” you get the idea?

8.    Ask a question – rhetorical, of your self - of the audience -