From Plot to Narrative: A Step-By-Step Process of Story Creation and Enhancement

by Elizabeth Ellis

Each of the twelve chapters represents a rung on the ladder of dynamic narrative development.  Beginning with the most basic plot outline, Ellis leads readers through exercises and discussions of elements that build a story into a memorable reading or listening experience.  The chapters include many topics of interest to all writers, regardless of medium, but some will speak most potently to those writing either fiction or personal narrative. Chapters include Characterization, Point of View, Emotion, Context, Imagery, and Connection [with the reader].  Herself a leading professional storyteller, Ellis also includes a chapter especially for those who plan to craft stories for oral performance.

Genres: Writing

112 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Elizabeth Ellis (born 1943) is an American storyteller and author known for her live performances of traditional tales, literature, Texas and Appalachian history and folklore, and personal memoir.[1] She was awarded the Circle of Excellence in 1997 by the National Storytelling Network after being recognized by her peers as a master storyteller. She is a regular performer at the National Storytelling Festival. She was selected as a "Listener's Choice" at the 30th Anniversary National Storytelling Festival and a Storyteller-In-Residence at the International Storytelling Center. She was the first recipient of the John Henry Faulk Award from the Tejas Storytelling Association.

Source: Wikipedia

Reviews

[Mylinda Butterworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Storytellers come in all shapes and sizes from those who tell us stories to those who write screenplays so we can see them come to life. It doesn't matter in what format the stories come they all start in the same place with the bones or basic outline of the story. Without this basic element we cannot map out the details of our story according to Elizabeth Ellis the author of "From Plot to Narrative." This book is a true reflection of a master storyteller sharing her skills through humor, wisdom, common sense and clarity. If you have ever heard Elizabeth tell a story you will be able to see that she uses what she teaches in this book, her stories take on shape and unfold in such a way that we don't just listen but become participants in the journey. Her new book allows us to break down her process of creating stories into ten easy steps, each chapter having exercises attached to them to help us take our story from it's simplest structure and transform it into a fully formed story.

I find that "From Plot to Narrative" is like a recipe for building the ultimate story sandwich with the layers being represented in each chapter as context, conflict, sensory imagery, characterization, point of view, emotion, connection, humor, wisdom, word choice and finally assembling all of these layers into a delicious story ready for the ear or eye. I highly recommend this book for the novice or experienced storyteller in their quest to improve their skills.

[Linda McClaren PhD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elizabeth Ellis is a master of her craft. What you may not know is that she also recognizes the master storyteller in all of us. In this concise little book, Elizabeth shows us how the telling and/or writing of the story is only the middle step of the storytelling process. In this book, Elizabeth teaches a process that anyone can use to make a story or lecture or presentation or performance more interesting and meaningful to our listeners and readers. I am grateful for having found this book!

[Jonathan Hardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Simple Process

I loved the simple process that this book gives for building out a narrative. The exercises and examples throughout make it very simple for improving my storytelling.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neat little book on the art of storytelling

[Giulia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of attending one of Elizabeth's workshops at the 2016 NSN Conference in Kansas City. She was a delight to listen to and you can "hear" her voice in this book. She guides you through 10 layers for getting your story ready before even starting writing it. Very informative read. Recommend it to whoever is interested in telling stories (basically everybody) and those who need some guidance to approaching storytelling.

[Langfordlibrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elizabeth's many years of experience is carefully shared on each page. Very informative and clear. Now, to just do it!

[Kyle Robison]

Hekpful with tips for daily writing to accomplish a writing goal