travel
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There’s No Fate Except the One We Make by Amy MacPherson
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.…
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Learning the Storytelling Process by D’Anne Pientka
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…
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Story Circles Unite Us by Natalie Rivera
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…
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Personal Storytelling FAQs by Anne Law
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…
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Story Structures Comparison Chart
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…
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Developing A 5-Minute Personal Story
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.…
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Folktales Broaden Personal Stories by Amy Macpherson
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…
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How to Conduct “Learn a Story Fast” by Liz Warren
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 –…
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The Cow-Tail Switch as Story Learning Device by Liz Warren
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…
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Some Favorites from the TMSG Blog by Liz Warren
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…
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The Top 10 Things I Learned in The Art of Storytelling by Henry Ortega
Here are the top ten things I learned in The Art of Storytelling in the Fall of 2025 at South Mountain Community College. 1. Let your body tell the story I learned that storytelling isn’t just about talking — apparently, my arms, eyebrows, and entire spinal cord need to get involved too. Before this class,…
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Facing Fear – One Story at a Time by Rigo Tavena
“You should take storytelling.” Storytelling?! My face probably said it all: perplexed, confused, maybe even a little skeptical. “Yes, storytelling,” the advisor repeated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Sounds freaking whack,” I thought.But after what felt like an eternity of debating with myself, I said, “Ok, sure… let’s do…