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I have been quite uncertain whether posting this here or in the Dove's head, as it is not strictly speaking magic-related, but I am confident that the mods will correct any possible mistake...

While I consider myself a pretty good maths teacher, when it comes to storytelling, i.e. actually telling stories both to friends and just met people, I find my skills quite disappointing.

I have read with much interest Stephen Ward's book and realized that I really want to improve this. Given my background as a researcher and role playing games master, I am pretty good at researching materials and coming up with interesting ideas. What I am really disappointed at is my ability in turning the script alive; I have done in the past some acting, but telling a story is quite different from reciting a script.

Does anybody have any advice on good material on storytelling?

Download the free book by our own craig Browning.

http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/about ... /center/10

I think your post is ok where it is

assuming your story telling is for magic tricks and not for reading class he he

Good question, I could do with some advice on that too

I was watching a Ricky Jay DVD the other a day and noticed he did a trick from ERDNASE (with the 4 Queens)

and was surprised to see that he had learnt the patter (from the book) and used it word for word in his performance

I saw no problem with this at all, I knew where he got the trick from and why not use the patter as well? It is beautifully written after all.

Another example I can think of is, if you buy Jeff McBride's 'Kundalini rising' he offers a story / patter in the instructional booklet and actually suggests that you learn it and use it in your performance, again beautifully written story, why not use it?

Where there any particular tricks / effects you are wanting to tell a story with?

Are there any story telling performances you could watch for inspiration?

Any existing tricks / effects that are aided by a story that you could work with and make your own?

Storytelling is an art form in and of its own and it takes time to gain a knack for it regardless which genre you decide to work in. The "Darker" side of things is especially difficult in that you must learn how to give the audience a break here and there. On the other hand, offering Munchhausen styled tall tales simply requires one to be willing to come off bombastic and full of wind; quite often you are one seemingly "touched" mentally, the Victorian era adventurer or "Scientist" whose a bit ahead of his time, etc.

My book will give you a few resources on this topic and I do believe you can find Storyteller groups via the Internet, with which to meet and learn. I will add that those that can amuse the l'il people as a Magikle Storyteller are quite popular and don't seem to be wanting for work once they become known of.

My advice.. keep the story short. ive seen many who ramble on for ages, and then only do some silly trick at the end. And by the time we reach that trick.. ive lost all interest in the act.

a longer routine, should be a series of short anecdotes, with something visual at the end of each one...

Thanks everybody, I've downloaded Craig's book and will soon be reading it.
Craig, what I particularly like about your free ebooks is the incredible amount of suggested readings you put in it. I hope this one goes along with the others

Anyway, I always like having several points of views, so if anybody knows about other good material on the art of storytelling, I'd like to hear from you. I am also looking for non-magic related material...

Do good research on your story. If it is an effect involving the Pendle Witches then try to include some real facts about them. Little details like that really help.

MiKo wrote:Anyway, I always like having several points of views, so if anybody knows about other good material on the art of storytelling, I'd like to hear from you. I am also looking for non-magic related material...

I'll have a dig around my book collection; working at a drama department myself and very interested in narrative. No guarantees, but will give a heads up if I find anything.

The first "proper" effect I saw was a storytelling routine, so I've been hooked on that side of magic from the get-go. I agree with Dale, and personally feel that the story should be a demonstration of the effect, rather than an excuse for it. To quote Tony Andruzzi on bizarre magick: "You tell your audience an impossible tale and show them irrefutable proof that it is true."

Purely from a theatre perspective, less is often more. Don't be afraid to allow for a moment of silence to let a sentence really sink in.

daleshrimpton wrote:My advice.. keep the story short. ive seen many who ramble on for ages, and then only do some silly trick at the end. And by the time we reach that trick.. ive lost all interest in the act.

a longer routine, should be a series of short anecdotes, with something visual at the end of each one...

Bizarre Magick is rife with fools thinking themselves Olivier or Burton but who can barely pull off Jerry Lewis or for that matter, William Shatner

daleshrimpton wrote:My advice.. keep the story short. ive seen many who ramble on for ages, and then only do some silly trick at the end. And by the time we reach that trick.. ive lost all interest in the act.

A lot of Black Harts routines are good for this reason. Concise stories with good tricks integrated. Christian Chelman's books are worth a read for inspiration on taking tracks and creating stories around.

Craig Browning wrote:Bizarre Magick is rife with fools thinking themselves Olivier or Burton but who can barely pull off Jerry Lewis or for that matter, William Shatner

Dear God, now I've got Shatner's voice doing a bizarre routine stuck in my head.

"I was walking... down a... lonely road... when a man... dressed in... black... stepped out... from the shadows."

MiKo wrote:I have been quite uncertain whether posting this here or in the Dove's head, as it is not strictly speaking magic-related, but I am confident that the mods will correct any possible mistake...

While I consider myself a pretty good maths teacher, when it comes to storytelling, i.e. actually telling stories both to friends and just met people, I find my skills quite disappointing.

I have read with much interest Stephen Ward's book and realized that I really want to improve this. Given my background as a researcher and role playing games master, I am pretty good at researching materials and coming up with interesting ideas. What I am really disappointed at is my ability in turning the script alive; I have done in the past some acting, but telling a story is quite different from reciting a script.

Does anybody have any advice on good material on storytelling?

How about finding a collection of short stories along the same theme or genre that you are planning on telling stories about? Not so you can steal their stories but so you can read through them all whilst making notes of any stories that really pull you in and hold your interest. Then go back and re-read them but from a more analytical point of view. Try to work out why they gripped you, what sort of language they used, how they described things. Then try to write a short story using those same techniques and see how you do. Quite often the big part of a successful story is not just the tale being told, but the way it is told- the language, the pacing, the way that it fires the readers (or listeners) imagination so they get totally sucked into it and experience it rather than just passively observing it. A good storyteller and a bad storyteller can both tell the same basic tale but the good storyteller will be the one who makes their audience live the tale!

A J Irving wrote: A good storyteller and a bad storyteller can both tell the same basic tale but the good storyteller will be the one who makes their audience live the tale!

The point is exactly this. I thank you all for your suggestions, but someway I seem to be failing in communicating exactly what I'm after.

I'm not looking at the moment at how to build a good story, but more at how to actually tell it, as in how to recite it.

Even in Craig's book (which is the one of his free ebooks I liked most and which contained a lot of useful ideas, I must say) there is not much concerning the actual "acting" part (or at least I must have missed it).
So far the only advice I have been able to get has been "join your local theatre group/acting lesson" and the like, which at the moment is impossible for me. Besides I would like something more focused on telling stories rather than playing a role (which is a skill I am well aware is crucial, but I have some knowledge of).

Don't get me wrong: I think all your advice is sound and useful, but it somehow misses the point; I don't think at all that I am a good (or even bad) actor, just that my storytelling abilities at the moment need a dramatic improvement much more urgently than my general acting skills...

My advice, as I tell stories every day...would be to get yourself a book on voiceover technique, such as the Art of Voice Acting (Jame R. Alburger), or "Finding Your Voice" (Barbara Houseman) - mainly vocal exercises.
Not everything will be useful, but you will be able to extract loads of useful material in terms of range, styles, vocalizing characters etc.
Bruce

you might also think about taking some acting classes, or at the very least join a decent local am dram society, or choir. you might also find that there is a poetry group in your area that has reading nights. If you were to explain what your looking for, you might be able to sit in ... for the price of a few shared tricks.