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Inviting the Wolf In: Thinking About Difficult Stories
Winner of the Storytelling World Award A difficult story is any story whose content makes it challenging to tell or difficult to hear. Told for the wrong reasons, it can be as painful for the listener as for the teller. However, as we know from literature and media, Sophie's Choice to The Sixth Sense, told properly, a difficult story can powerfully alter not only he who tells it, but those who hear it. How can we tell the stories of wickedness and loss, sorrow and grief? How do we respectfully engage our audience and get to the core of a story's meaning? Niemi and Ellis begin with the assumption that it is essential and beneficial to tell difficult stories. Stopping our ears or stilling our tongues will not make tragedy go away; rather, the first step in ending suffering is to name it for what it is.
- GenresWritingNonfiction
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 25, 2001
52 people want to read
About the author
Loren Niemi
10 books6 followersLoren Niemi began as a child fibber but soon decided that he was less interested in telling lies than in improving the truth.
He is an innovative storyteller creating, coaching/directing, performing, teaching and writing about stories that matter for audiences of all ages in urban and rural settings. It has been said that Loren tells the life he lives with immediacy, poetic imagery and insight.
He is a published author and poet. His publications include: What Haunts Us (MoonFire Publishing) is a collection of non-traditional “ghost” stories and WINNER OF the 2020 Midwest Book Award for "Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Horror / Paranomal" fiction. Other publications include the poetry chapbook, Coyote Flies Coach, the award winning The New Book of Plots and its companion Point of View and the Emotional Arc of Stories (both Parkhurst Brothers Publishers) which he co-authored with Nancy Donoval – both of which are focused on the structuring of oral and written narratives.
He is also co-authored with Elizabeth Ellis the critically acclaimed, Inviting the Wolf In: Thinking About Difficult Stories on the value and necessity of stories that are hard to hear and harder to tell.
He is an innovative storyteller creating, coaching/directing, performing, teaching and writing about stories that matter for audiences of all ages in urban and rural settings. It has been said that Loren tells the life he lives with immediacy, poetic imagery and insight.
He is a published author and poet. His publications include: What Haunts Us (MoonFire Publishing) is a collection of non-traditional “ghost” stories and WINNER OF the 2020 Midwest Book Award for "Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Horror / Paranomal" fiction. Other publications include the poetry chapbook, Coyote Flies Coach, the award winning The New Book of Plots and its companion Point of View and the Emotional Arc of Stories (both Parkhurst Brothers Publishers) which he co-authored with Nancy Donoval – both of which are focused on the structuring of oral and written narratives.
He is also co-authored with Elizabeth Ellis the critically acclaimed, Inviting the Wolf In: Thinking About Difficult Stories on the value and necessity of stories that are hard to hear and harder to tell.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 8, 2026
This review was originally posted on my personal website/blog: https://authorrhwalker.com/2026/02/07...
Of the books I've read for the By Writers For Writers project so far, this may be the most unique. Niemi and Ellis are storytellers by trade, and their unique perspective on how a story is crafted makes for a valuable reading experience.
The first thing I appreciated about this book is that Niemi and Ellis don't take it for granted that difficult stories are worth telling. They are considerate of the reasons someone might or might not choose to tell a difficult story, and the book is very empathetic in its overall approach. It does not seek to force the storyteller to tell a story they are not ready to tell, nor to tell a story an audience may not be ready to hear. Despite this, they are firm in their conviction that these kinds of stories can and should be told.
A "difficult" story is defined in the book as any story containing or pertaining to subject matter that either a storyteller or an audience member may find difficult. (This book was first published in 2001, so in more modern vernacular we'd refer to this as any material a person may find "triggering"). I think especially for young creators, the fear of discomfiting people can get in the way of telling the best story they can. This book does well to help allay some of those fears, and leans heavily into the belief that even if a story contains sensitive material, it is still worth telling, and that there are choices that can be made to help mitigate any harm that might be done.
Writers (at least, the writers I've met) have a tendency to describe their stories as entities of their own. They consider themselves as conduits for their stories; I myself have often described writing as a paleontology dig, where the story in its purest form already exists, I just have to uncover it. When dealing with difficult subject matter though, Ellis and Niemi are firm in the belief that storytelling is little more than a series of choices. There can be subtlety in telling a potentially triggering story, and the examples provided show just how effective even small changes can be.
At the end of each chapter, an exercise is provided to help writers experiment with the principles provided. I am always appreciative of these kinds of additions in craft books. Another great addition are the example stories sprinkled throughout the book. These were mostly contributed by Niemi and Ellis themselves, but there are some provided by guest writers that are equally great, and I found that many of them affected me more deeply than I expected going in.
Overall, I enjoyed this book very much. The questions posed about who gets to tell a story, when and how they choose to tell that story, and how an audience may react to it, are worth pondering for any kind of writer across any genre.
Of the books I've read for the By Writers For Writers project so far, this may be the most unique. Niemi and Ellis are storytellers by trade, and their unique perspective on how a story is crafted makes for a valuable reading experience.
The first thing I appreciated about this book is that Niemi and Ellis don't take it for granted that difficult stories are worth telling. They are considerate of the reasons someone might or might not choose to tell a difficult story, and the book is very empathetic in its overall approach. It does not seek to force the storyteller to tell a story they are not ready to tell, nor to tell a story an audience may not be ready to hear. Despite this, they are firm in their conviction that these kinds of stories can and should be told.
A "difficult" story is defined in the book as any story containing or pertaining to subject matter that either a storyteller or an audience member may find difficult. (This book was first published in 2001, so in more modern vernacular we'd refer to this as any material a person may find "triggering"). I think especially for young creators, the fear of discomfiting people can get in the way of telling the best story they can. This book does well to help allay some of those fears, and leans heavily into the belief that even if a story contains sensitive material, it is still worth telling, and that there are choices that can be made to help mitigate any harm that might be done.
Writers (at least, the writers I've met) have a tendency to describe their stories as entities of their own. They consider themselves as conduits for their stories; I myself have often described writing as a paleontology dig, where the story in its purest form already exists, I just have to uncover it. When dealing with difficult subject matter though, Ellis and Niemi are firm in the belief that storytelling is little more than a series of choices. There can be subtlety in telling a potentially triggering story, and the examples provided show just how effective even small changes can be.
At the end of each chapter, an exercise is provided to help writers experiment with the principles provided. I am always appreciative of these kinds of additions in craft books. Another great addition are the example stories sprinkled throughout the book. These were mostly contributed by Niemi and Ellis themselves, but there are some provided by guest writers that are equally great, and I found that many of them affected me more deeply than I expected going in.
Overall, I enjoyed this book very much. The questions posed about who gets to tell a story, when and how they choose to tell that story, and how an audience may react to it, are worth pondering for any kind of writer across any genre.
March 29, 2018
If you want to tell difficult stories effectively you should read this volume. Filled with short stories to illustrate how to communicate a message using that which is difficult to tell and many times to hear, you will learn many tips.
There is great information on the process of considering the feelings of the storyteller and those that hear them. You will also see how sometimes the way a story gets told gets in the way of the message being communicated.
If you are a storyteller, a professional or maybe in the midst of family and friends and want to learn how to tell those stories that take us to difficult places, then this is worth the read.
There is great information on the process of considering the feelings of the storyteller and those that hear them. You will also see how sometimes the way a story gets told gets in the way of the message being communicated.
If you are a storyteller, a professional or maybe in the midst of family and friends and want to learn how to tell those stories that take us to difficult places, then this is worth the read.
January 4, 2019
Had to read for a class and just did not enjoy the content. A lot of the stories I thought the style of storytelling was was not suited to be used as sermon illustrations
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews