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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
I was just watching an A&E presentation about Stephen King. It detailed how he became a success in spite of overwhelming odds. One of the things that it pointed out was where his stories actually came from.
Stephen wrote about his own life, his own fears, his own frustrations and the things that were all around him. The Shining, was based on his own frustrations as a writer and the way it affected his family. It was also about his own childhood in a special way. Pet Sematary was based upon two things -- an animal cemetery that he and his kids had constructed near their house, to dispose of the roadkill that they found by the side of the road and a brush with death that his two year old son had. He would take an incident or some incidents, put them together and use them as the point of departure for a novel. Now, here is the most important part. Stephen King writes primarily for people to read. His material, though extremely enthralling, is not the kind of material you need for a magical story presentation. It takes too long. No modern audience would sit through a recitation of Carrie from beginning to end, unless Stephen King, himself were doing it. The movie, itself, was really a truncated version of the story. Nothing really important was left out, but it was reduced to about 90 minutes. So, what does this mean to the magical story writer and story teller? Since our work is basically recitation with illustration by magic, we must keep our stories down to a length that a sitting audience will be able to handle. We must keep their attention, and we must do so with whatever tools we have. How can you achieve this? First, analyze the tools. You have the story. You have the magic. What else? ACTING!!!!!! Use your voice. Use inflection. Do the voices of different characters. React. Use your face. Don't just make faces, now, but use facial expressions. Remember Jack Gilford? Look him up. Then put all of that into the story. But start with a good story that will stand on its own.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
Here is an important thought about story magic.
Storytelling is very much like music. The story teller's instrument is his (or her) voice. As such, it must be developed and made as flexible as possible. The human voice is capable of an incredible amount of expression. It can laugh, it can cry, and it can make the listener want to do the same. But only if people will listen to it. So, what must you do? First, try to minimize any kind of regional accent you have that might interfere with your storytelling. Some regional accents automatically polarize an audience. Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy Carter had heavy regional accents that made many people think they were hicks. It affected their credibility. Next, learn how to breathe and project. Voice lessons would definitely be a plus here. When you are telling your stories, you can give different voices to the characters in it. This brings the characters to life, thereby bringing the story to life. Use emotion when you tell the stories. Also, eliminate any unnecessary material in the story. Pare it down, then add only the necessary details -- the ones that give it flavor and make it real. Remember, if you have children, you can either excite them with a story...or put them to sleep.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » From The Wizards Cave - by Bill Palmer » » Where do all those stories come from? (0 Likes) |
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