Liz Warren | Storyteller

Intending to incorporate a handful of Spanish phrases while learning a new set of traditional stories, I picked up “Watch Out for Clever Women” by Joe Hayes.   Hayes is an early adopter of bilingual storytelling and his collected works are often alternating pages of English and Spanish. It becomes easy to find matches for phrases…

Who knew 24 fellows could stir a curiosity so strong that I want to have a cup of joe or a mocktail/cocktail with each of them to get to know them better? Through our “personal story” assignment, I’ve learned that one fellow and a police officer watched his vehicle that was stuck on railroad tracks…

When I was enrolled in STO292 during the Spring 2025 semester, my instructor, Liz Warren, asked me to share a story at the Miami Loco Arts festival. My first thought was, “Heck No! I am a beginning student.” I didn’t want to embarrass Liz or myself. With Liz’s encouragement, I agreed to share a story.…

This is my first blog, a bit surprising since I write stories and poetry. Interestingly, as a storyteller, I don’t feel nervous standing in front of people. However, sharing my story here has me a little on edge.My desire to tell stories probably derives from my grandmother. Oh, the tales she spun. Drove my aunt…

It all started in the spring semester of 2026. I was blessed with the opportunity to be a part of the Community Storytelling Fellowship Program. This program is part of the Storytelling Institute at South Mountain Community College. Thanks to a generous donor, students were funded to take storytelling classes and bring storytelling to the…

As I’ve shared my storytelling journey with other people (I’ll call them “OP”), I’ve noticed the same questions come up over and over. Here’s how those conversations usually go: OP: Storytelling? Why are you taking a class for storytelling?!Me: Because stories are at the root of everything. They shape ideas, influence behavior, and connect us…

The thing that distinguishes stories from other narrative forms is that stories hinge on change and transformation. Stories document change. Things are always different at the end of the story than they were at the beginning. That might include anything from a dramatic life-altering event, a challenge that got resolved, or an “aha” moment that…

A well-crafted story that you can tell in five minutes or less is one of the most useful things to have in your repertoire. Use the tips below to develop a compact and effective story from your own experience. You can always use it as the base for a longer one if the need arises.…

As part of the Storytelling Institute, there is a class called Creating and Telling Personal Stories (STO 297). In this class, you learn how to structure stories from your personal life. There’s something really evocative about getting a glimpse into someone’s life—into a moment in time, the people who were there, the place where it…

Sometime in the late 1990s I attended a workshop conducted by the renowned storyteller and author Peninnah Schram. She was visiting Arizona and held the workshop in the large sanctuary of a church in Scottsdale. She led us in an exercise called “Learn a Story Fast,” and I’ve been using it myself ever since –…

What are the elements of a story, and how can a folktale help us learn and remember them? One answer is hiding in plain sight in the well-known and often told Liberian story, “The Cow-tail Switch.” It serves as the title story of a collection curated by Harold Courlander and George Herzog which received a…

I started the Tell Me Something Good Blog in 2010 to provide a platform for me and our serious students to write about what we were learning and experiencing as we deepened our practice as storytellers. Below is a list of some of the posts I’ve found most useful recently, and over the years. I…