Product Description

Customer Reviews (38)

This Book Really Delivers...
Considering the potentially complex nature of telling stories through pictures, I thought this book delivered wonderfully on the promise of its title. Cinematic storytelling provides a really solid foundation with regard to understanding some of the most commonly used conventions in filmmaking. I particularly enjoyed the presentation of the imagery used to illustrate the correlation between the technical aspects of framing shots and the resulting emotional impact they can achieve. Really just a great lesson in the visual artistry inherent to the craft. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone wanting to further hone their filmmaking skills.

A Great Resource For Film Students
After reading CINEMATIC STORYTELLING, my colleague and I decided to order it for an intermediate filmmaking class for Buffalo State College's Television and Film Arts program.Our program is all about developing great storytellers.To that end, we were looking for a book that could help our students bring their scripts to life.The examples given in this book beautifully illustrate the thought processes of some of our greatest filmmakers and are a wonderful tool to help budding filmmakers storyboard their scripts and make impactful films.

Filmmaking Bible
My husband (whom I bought the book for) insists the only thing I needed to say about this book is that it is the bona-fide Bible of filmmaking.

Excellent book for understanding the art if cinematic storytelling.
This is a fantastic book for anyone wanting to understand the art of cinematic storytelling. I have been doing production for over 18 years and was able to either reconfirm what I already know along with be reminded of what I forgot. This book is formatted to easily digest the concepts. Fred Meek - MindBOX Video Productions Austin, TX [...]

An amazing resource
I stumbled on this book almost b yaccident - and thank goodness! It has guided my own films and videos and those of my students ever since. You can flip to any page in this, or run start to finish, and quickly and easily expand your visual storytelling skills. This is a "can't miss" book ! ... Read more

Product Description
In his best-selling book, Squirrel Inc., former World Bank executive and master storyteller Stephen Denning used a tale to show why storytelling is a critical skill for leaders. Now, in this hands-on guide, Denning explains how you can learn to tell the right story at the right time. Whoever you are in the organization CEO, middle management, or someone on the front lines you can lead by using stories to effect change. Filled with myriad examples, A Leader’s Guide to Storytelling shows how storytelling is one of the few available ways to handle the principal and most difficult challenges of leadership: sparking action, getting people to work together, and leading people into the future. The right kind of story at the right time, can make an organization “stunningly vulnerable” to a new idea. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

A story all over the map
The title of the book implies to me a very specific topic: how to tell good stories, for better leadership, in a business setting. The first two chapters warm up nicely to that idea. I started off rather encouraged. Unfortunately that appears to be where the author reached the end of his storytelling knowledge because a large portion of the book veers off into leadership styles, branding, group dynamics, etc. He connects it all with the word "story," and while I understand how a brand can be, metaphorically, a company's "story", its really not storytelling. Its a lot of meandering chapters using the word "story" in ways that aren't particularly insightful and distracting from the main topic. Really I blame the editor or the publisher. Its bad enough that they should have caught it and given him some advice. Look elsewhere for storytelling techniques.

Couldn't get through it
A book about storytelling that was not well told.Although this one came highly recommended, I was personally put off
by the fact that it was dryly written and not that engaging.When a book reads like a textbook and becomes a chore to get through,
I put it down.

Great text book
Enjoying this book for school and am sure I'll continue using it after the class is over

Story telling isn't easy but is critical
I won't go in to the depth as other reviewers have.You get a thorough list of the different types of stories (narratives) that can be told, based on the occasion.You'll also get a good understanding of the formulas for types of narratives.He explains in simple terms, if you want your audience to do this then a story such as this will be useful, if and only if it is told this way.

I'm a professional recruiter.So, I'm on the phone all day trying to gain compliance from people.I also tell narratives about clients and opportunities TO candidates - to get the candidates excited about a change AND I tell clients about candidates to get the client excited about someone new.Narratives are integral to my job.I put Denning's material to work on the first day.I noticed a remarkable improvement.Actual example:
This past Thursday I was speaking with a client contact about someone I thought she should interview, and I started my "pitch" by letting her know in no uncertain terms that I thought it would be a good idea for her to interview my candidate.My pitch would have been pretty standard up until now.However this time I did something different, using the springboard.Now, I'm probably a lot like other recruiters but I'm probably slightly above average in articulation.I used my strength to share a narrative about my candidate- something he had done successfully.It occurred to me that if I hadn't told this story the way I had that the call was going to go no where.But even though I was a little off-balance because it was new to me, something clicked and the springboard just fell in to place.The client behaved very differently this time and it was invigorating!Before I could even ask if she wanted to schedule a call, SHE ASKED ME FIRST - "When can I get on the phone with this guy?"It was rather inspiring.(by the way, I just told that story to YOU in springboard fashion - if you read this Steve, how did I do?)

You'll probably have to practice them or this book will be just like the other developmental books you've likely read.It's worth it.

An Outline to Self Knowledge

The Leader's Guide to Storytelling, by Stephen Denning is a book which opens ones eyes to the power of the story. While difficult at best to quantify results based solely on a short, perhaps ten minute speech, Denning's theme does have merit- words matter, and how you use them matters even more.

Offering the reader eight narrative patterns to use for different leadership challenges, Denning provides a how-to guide in constructing your own personal stories. If one thinks deeply and thoughtfully about each one, by the end, you will have eight great stories with personal meaning, whether you ever use them in a business setting or not.

Being a relatively new member of Toastmasters, a professional speaking club, I found the book filled with great ideas on speech topics, and unique and innovative ways to present them. I did find it took a while in certain parts of the book to get to the meat of the message.

The author presented many opportunities to hone your own message and personal branding throughout the book. Even a logistician such as myself can take away many useful nuggets.

The bottom line is, in today's world, communication is king. As a leader, it is vitally important to be able to verbally convey your thoughts and ideas to those around you. Denning offers useful insights to speakers of every level. Read the book. Work the stories. Tell the world. ... Read more

Product Description
The first steps in storytelling are often easy, because we tell stories informally every day. Once you take storytelling into the more formal contexts of performance or occupational uses, however, you may be faced with challenges you hadn't anticipated. You need information that goes beyond the basics. And you need it in a form that does not just tell you what to do but helps you make your own informed decisions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

a skill EVERYONE should hone!!
OHMYGOODNESS!

can't say enough about this book!
storytelling is the ultimate effective communication skill, and this book is a practical and insightful source for improving your storytelling method!

it could improve communication in SO many areas of our lives - business, families, schools, ministries, schools . . . if people only knew the potential power of "The Story"!

required reading for my university class.

The best way to communicate ... tell a story
This is an excellent book about storytelling.I bought the book for self improvement.As a salesman and consultant, most of my career has been spent communicating with corporate decision makers.The best way to communicate effectively is through anecdotal stories. Why?Your listeners remember them.

Lipman does a great job of explaining effective storytelling by stepping his readers through the process of story development, defining the "MIT" Most Important Thing, and tips for delivering the story effectively.He also spends time in teaching how to deliver a story that must be told verbatim...a difficult thing to do.

If you are in a business that requires you to influence people through effective communication, you will find this book an invaluable resource.Read it and enjoy it, then tell your friends your story.

Fluff, Fluff, Fluff...and endless Fluff!!!
First of all, reviews should be more about what the book is about and it talks about, rather than just general praise because for the written content.

I purchased this book because of the positive reviews.I wanted a self-help to learn "how-to" tell a story.I wanted to learn how to tell a story when I am with my friend in casual social situation, regardless if the stories are true or not.I wanted to learn a skill that could be picked up from this book...

instead what did I get?

Endless fluffs!

This is NOT a self-help book.

The book only talks about the "what" and the "why" and the author's life and experience, like I actually cared about that and what the author did in his life.There is NOT a single practical thing you can take from this book, unless you want to waste time indulging your mind in useless fluff.

I wanted this book to teach me something that could be used in the real world, and this book failed to delivered that.

I have waste my time reading this book and money.

Let me tell you a story!
Very good book that reveals the truth of storytelling!
Buy it - read it - tell a story!

Awesome!
Even if you are not necessarily looking to be the next best storyteller.This book is overflowing with such smart and interesting ideas about language and people and communicating. Maybe you want to improve your imagination, or maybe your communication with others, or maybe even just improve your voice.This book is all of that!!! ... Read more

Product Description
Technologically experienced and novice educators can use this NCTE standards–aligned text to empower students to create digital stories based on the principles of storytelling, technology application, and media technique. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Awesome technology book for teachers!

I found this book to be easy to read and helpful in many ways.I felt that a teacher could easily implement digital storybook in their classroom from reading this book.This is a good book for teachers who might not have a lot of background in this area but want to try using it.The book is broken down in to sections providing all the information that a teacher would want to help start this in their classroom.Ohler write in a way that makes it fun and exciting to read.He has good visual supports when they are needed.Overall he incorporates how you can use these tools in almost all aspects of the classroom.I would highly recommend this book for teachers who would like start or find different ways to implement digital storytelling into their classroom.

My thoughts on Digital Storytelling by Ohler
As a graduate student in Educational Technology and a certified Art Education Teacher, I had the privilege of reading and reviewing Jason Ohler's, "Digital Storytelling in the Classroom" as part of an assignment. I am always looking for creative ways to bring technology in the classroom, which is one of the reasons why I entered an Educational Technology Master's program. However, I never thought that Digital Storytelling would be an option until reading Ohler's book. I was thrilled that Ohler brought his own background into the book by explaining how he came to research and write about Digital Storytelling or DST. Ohler makes a point that stories, although they have been around for centuries, can be more difficult to discover than we think. Often, we do not even realize that we are writing digital stories because in most cases, they have become a part of our every day routine. Ohler defines Digital Storytelling as, "using personal digital technology to combine a number of media into a coherent narrative". As he continues the writing of his book, Ohler covers further specifics about Digital Storytelling along with the steps to create digital stories, especially within the classroom. The most valuable piece of the book, for me, was chapter 3, in which Ohler describes DST as an educational tool. What I enjoyed most was in specific detail with the important pieces, such as, content/technology standards and literacy development. Ohler does not throw little sentences of these important pieces here or there, but covers a large amount of the standards especially, in great detail. As an educator today, standards are a large part of our curriculum and focus. Ohler also includes information about assessment as the book continues, which I always find to be very helpful. For example, figure 4.1 on page 68 describes important assessment traits that must be looked at when evaluating digital stories in the classroom. One of the most important facts represented by Ohler is that anyone can write digital stories and I believe this to be true. As teachers, if we are given just a small amount of training, we can develop a story and then tell it with our available media. Ohler recommends using what you have on hand and what you are comfortable using. It is also important to know copyright and fair use in education. It just so happens that Ohler dedicates an entire chapter to these rules and regulations for you to know and learn. Although Ohler gives a large amount of useful resources, I wish there were more "real world" examples of teachers that have used Digital Storytelling in their classroom. There could be a chapter dedicated to their discoveries and suggestions for successful DST lesson plans. Overall, I am excited to use what I have learned from Ohler in and out of my own classroom.

A Review of: Digital Storytelling in the Classroom
I am a 4th grade special education teacher, and I am also getting my masters in educational technology. I became intrigued by the idea of digital story telling. What is it? How can I use it in my classroom? Will the kids enjoy it? Jason Ohler answered a lot of my questions and more in his book Digital Storytelling in the Classroom. Jason feels that humans are natural story tellers. We tell stories all the time about our lives and experiences. Digital story telling in the classroom is driven by an academic goal, however most kids are experts at telling stories so we are connecting to something they are already successful at. Digital story telling can come in many forms, such as a video tape, power point, photos, animation software, and sound recordings with still images.There are two types of digital story telling computer-based where the student is not upfront, and performance based where the student is presenting with technology. Coming from a special education background I found this helpful because so many of my students struggle writing down a story. I now have a ton of different ideas for these students to create, and share a story to the class. Digital story telling also meets almost all of the New York State learning standards. In all ELA standards students are required to be reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Through Ohler's book I was really able to see how reading and writing just doesn't have to be seat work. Even if there is not writing in the final product for example creating a movie, the students still had to write out a script. Students can be creating a digital story and still be meeting the ELA standards. Not to mention the digital aspect of it is connected to the technology NYS standards. Digital Story telling re-emphasized the importance of oral literacy. The concept of story telling has been around for ages, and with digital storytelling it is putting a new spin on and old way of passing down knowledge. When it comes to assessing these students' digital stories, I found the rubric on page 68 (Table 4.1) to be very helpful. It really breaks down the different areas of the project that should be assessed and questions the teacher can be asking themselves as they are grading the project. This rubric I would share with a group before they began their digital story-telling quest, so they would know what is expected as a final product. I like the fact that Ohler points out that when creating a story the students really have to focus on the elements of literature. For example, plot what is going to happen in my story, What is the problem? How am I going to show the climax?What is the resolution going to be? Students really will have to understand the concept if they are going to be able to use it when creating their own story. Another vital part of digital story telling, Ohler explains, is that the students know what the purpose of their presentation is. Are they creating this story for persuasion, to inform, to entertain or to express their thoughts?They need to consider what they want their audience to walk away with. There are a ton of great graphic organizers in this book as well. Being a visual learning myself I found them helpful to lay out the digital storytelling process.To point out a few figure 11.2 gives a great example of caking planning, 11.3 on page 142 was a great way to show me the entire process of digital storytelling. Ohler also devotes a section of his book to connect to the different levels of Blooms Taxonomy, this is great for me as a special education teacher because not all of my students are able to work at the synthesis stage, some of them will only be able to produce a story at the comprehension stage. But that is okay, digital story telling allows educators to scaffold their instruction and assessment so students are working at their level. I really recommend this book for educators that are looking for other ways of having their students present what they have learned. There are many parts of this book that I am going to take and add in my own classroom.

a great help
As a high school teacher who wants to try to keep up with her students' technological prowess, I got this book to help me plan a DST project.This book gave me the confidence to try one.I'm glad I bought it and have used it a LOT.

What this book did well:explain and give examples of what digital stories and story maps are, show and explain the steps in the process, and insist on copyright respect.Look at the Contents page; Ohler delivers what he promises.

I only wish Ohler had included calendars or timelines of other teachers' projects, because mine took longer than I expected.I take full responsibility for that, and actually expected mistakes on my part since I am a beginner, but I can't help but think I would have planned better had I had a model.

Incidently, my students were not as technologically savvy as I expected, and not saving the project correctly (with Microsoft Movie Maker) (some skipped the publishing step, for various reasons) was the most common mistake in that area.I recommend you have them turn in their project 3 or 4 days before the screening day so you can catch and have students fix those errors without wasting class time.

For other beginners: be sure the dialog/narration is included in the story board they turn in.My students groaned when I asked for the dialog to be written because they had already outlined the plot to me orally and through a map, but I caught numerous mistakes (insufficient or illogical plot development) thanks to the story board step.

Good luck.This book will really help.

Useful
This book is really useful for anyone wanting to use digital stories in the classroom. ... Read more

Product Description

"Every great leader is a great storyteller," says Harvard University psychologist Howard Gardner.

Customer Reviews (25)

It's All in The Story
Storytelling is a powerful way to engage people within the sales process. The authors in this book immediately begin in the first chapter help you understand how to construct a powerful story. There are five elements involved in this creation.

1. Passion - the energy of delivery and emotions expressed
2. Hero - provide a point of view and engages the audience
3. Antagonist - obstacles that need to be overcome
4. Awareness - opportunity to learn from story
5. Transformation - the happy ending

Within the passion element, the authors contend that a good story has an element of surprise. This surprise factor helps to spread the story through word of mouth. Modern day examples of heroes cited included: Warren Buffet, Frank Perdue and Colonel Sanders. Then the authors walk the reader through the other four elements.

This book is a great template to help sales professionals craft a compelling story and learn how to leverage storytelling as part of their sales skills allowing them to truly be The Red Jacket in a sea of gray suits

Hugely disappointing
I bought this book to improve my storytelling. Big mistake. The book is a mishmash of everything trendy, New Age, Ancient Greek, modern TV,neuroscience, Viagra, Zen and buzz mixed together in an distasteful and incoherent 224-page glop.

Take for instance, their trivializing the Marines Corp as "one of the most effective brands in history" (sorry to hear your son was killed by friendly fire ma'am, but hey, isn't the Marines Corp a terrific brand!)

Much more useful than all the psychobabble would be some before and after stories showing how they had improved someone's storytelling. One of the authors claims to teach 'narrative strategies', but strangely gives no such examples.

Save your money.

Elements of Persuasion
Excellent intro & in my opinion, the most effective way to "embody" the unique knowledge presented would be to take some of the courses presented by the School(Arica Institue/Oscar Ichazo Foundation)the authors cite to provide a map of the full range of the highest awareness available to a human being through knowledge/logic (all depends on what kind of logic one is using) rather than faith/belief (a valid path in itself though not necessarily "easier" than the way of knowledge/logic) & working practices/trainings to stablize & make such real & permanent.(And yes,I am still working at this.)

Exceptionally well-written business storytelling insights revealed
In my quest for learning how to communicate better in business, I found this book and am thrilled with the consultative, practical insights shared by the authors.Very effective in using stories to communicate key points (as in Ritz and others) as well as specific strategies, this book reveals many practical business leadership skill "how to" tactics that any of us in executive or entrepreneurial roles will find useful.

One of the better-written, thoughtful and useful books I've read all year.Superb job on it - highly recommended.

-ken calhoun

The Case for Storytelling as a Business-Critical Skill
Most of us would probably not identify storytelling as a business critical skill, and it is not likely to be found in the curriculum of business schools.But the authors are serious business consultants and have worked with some top-notch companies.Moreover, they don't just talk about storytelling, they practice what they preach.The book is filled with engaging, powerful stories about the impact leaders can have when they understand the power of a compelling story.They recount examples of leaders who have done this successfully, as well as some who did not - to the detriment of their shareholders.

Although this is a quick, entertaining read, it merits careful study.This is not simply a book of stories, it is a practical how-to for those struggling for a way to capture the importance of their mission, their vision, the potential of a new technology, or any other idea crucial to success.When you have finished, you will consider you critical messages in a new way, looking for the Passion, Hero, Antagonist, Awareness and Transformation that will embed your story in the listener's mind, and if successful, stir them to action.If you are a business leader, and especially if you are someone who sells products, ideas or concepts, this book belongs on your reading list.

Not all great business books are about strategy, execution, innovation, customer-focus or operational efficiency.This one is about a soft skill with hard impact.Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
Equally useful for seasoned professionals and those new to the field, Carolyn Handler Miller covers effective techniques for creating compelling narratives for a wide variety of digital media. Written in a clear, non-technical style, it offers insights into the process of content creation by someone with long experience in the field.

Whether you're a writer, producer, director, project manager, or designer, 'Digital Storytelling' gives you all you need to develop a successful interactive project.

*Learn about the ground-breaking work being done in new forms of narrative like Alternate Reality Games (ARGs), webisodes, user-generated content, mobile entertainment and transmedia storytelling

*Gain insights from case studies of cutting-edge projects from a variety of different media, including the Internet, video games, interactive television, virtual reality and interactive cinema

*Discover new uses of digital storytelling for both entertainment and entertainment blends -- projects that teach, inform, and promote

*See how to combine the best of both worlds - classic and twenty-first century storytelling techniques ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Digital Storytelling
I'd recommend Digital Storytelling to anyone interested in a new medium for their message--it's both accessible and practical.

With an MBA in marketing, I was most interested in the use of digital storytelling for promotion, advertising, and branding.I am a board member of an opera company; like many arts organizations, we are trying to entice a younger audience.

For the opera company, putting our young singers online is a very accessible way to lure a younger audience already familiar with Facebook.I would like to set up a MMOG (Massively Multiplayer Online Game), a type of game I learned about in the book. In MMOGs, people take on the appearance and persona of make-believe characters and interact with each other. In one for the opera company they could portray the drama and events of opera.Who wouldn't want to be the Duke of Mantua or Don Giovanni! An ARG (Alternative Reality Game) would be terrific, too. As explained in the Digital Storytelling, ARGs tie together several forms of media to tell a story, and intimately involve players in the narrative, where they help solve a mystery or prevent a crime.

Digital Storytelling also speaks to the challenges of a Rice University chamber music presenting organization of which I am a member.While the performances attract students, this audience will not have longevity that young subscribers will.Ergo we must reach these potential members through media with which they are familiar, like the Internet.

I loved the section of the book about the kiosk as an avatar.While it is terrific for hospitalized kids, it would also be a great way to communicate with shut-in geriatrics.The kiosks could incorporate pets, family, connected adults, games, physical exercises, etc.The possibilities are without limits.

I feel that Digital Storytelling provides a detailed, articulate guide for those interested in using a new methodology to convey their message; it is a fine tool.


Barbara Kauffman, M.A., M.B.A.

Amazing guidebook through the digital story world
I read the first edition of Digital Storytelling cover-to-cover and continue to use it as a reference book. When I picked up the second edition of this valuable resource, I knew I was in both heaven and in trouble. Here would be brand new jewels of information I could use in all my storytelling (that's the heaven part) and I would be compelled by my own curiousity and desire to stay abreast of the developing multi-media industry to read this new edition cover-to-cover (the trouble part is that once I picked it up I'd be ignoring other projects in order to absorb all the great insight and information Carolyn offers).

Sure enough.

Digital Storytelling has far surpassed the typical pattern of a second edition, which offers 20% new material. Miller's second edition offers 80% new material! If you want to keep up, or even have a glimmer of what's up on the frontiers of storytelling, you've got to read Digital Storytelling.

For those who pooh-pooh new media as shallow and unintelligent, read what Miller has to say about the history and provenance of the art form - including James Joyce.

For those who're only interested in the action and the creation of same, entire sections of the book are devoted to how-to's, with "Idea-Generating Exercises" in each.

For those whose interest lies in the business aspects of new technologies, Carolyn explores that as well.

To practice what she preaches about interconnectivity and multiple media sources, the book also offers additional materials and links on a couple of different websites.

All-in-all, Digital Storytelling is a comprehensive analysis of and approach to the creative and commercial aspects of new media that reflects the rich storytelling tendencies that make us human - and that makes stories so compelling.

Buy it, read it, and refer to it whenever you're working on anything digital.

Excellent Resource
Carolyn Miller is extremely bright and highly accomplished in her field; what she had to say about digital storytelling is worth listening to.The editorial reviews accurately reflect the great usefulness of this singular resource.I think you'll agree that it's "worth the price of admission." ... Read more

Product Description
Documentary Storytelling offers a unique in-depth look at story and structure as applied not to Hollywood fiction, but to films and videos based on factual material and the drama of real life. With the growing popularity of documentaries in today's global media marketplace, demand for powerful and memorable storytelling has never been greater. This practical guide offers advice for every stage of production, from research and proposal writing to shooting and editing, and applies it to diverse subjects and film styles, from vérité and personal narrative to archival histories and more.

Filled with real-world examples drawn from the author's career and the experiences of some of today's top documentarians, Documentary Storytelling includes special interview chapters with Ric Burns, Jon Else, Nick Fraser, Susan Froemke, Sam Pollard, Onyekachi Wambu and other film professionals. This second edition has been brought up to date with a more international focus, a look at lower-budget independent filmmaking, and consideration of newer films including Super Size Me, Murderball, So Much So Fast, and When the Levees Broke.

* Storytelling techniques are one of the most powerful tools in the documentary filmmaker's arsenal--learn how to harness them with this book
* Top documentary filmmakers provide their storytelling strategies
* Covers a wide range of documentary styles ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Documentary Storytelling
Wish the book was a little more hands on and practical. sometimes found the book too intense for the new-be documentarian.

Excellent primer on documentary storytelling, but weak on ethics
This is an impressive discourse on the art of storytelling in the documentary film form.Bernard writes as if she were in the front of a room speaking informally with a group of earnest students. Her approach is granular: she tackles each of the essentials in turn: story basics, approach, structure, manipulating time and then provides some case studies to sum up her initial points. Next she moves into research, casting (an all too often overlooked aspect of documentary storytelling), pitching and proposal writing and the hows and whys of outlines, treatments and scripts. Finally, she moves into more general advice on shooting, editing, writing narration and voice-over and provides a checklist for storytelling. All very useful information, packaged in a very comfortable form.

Overall, this is an excellent book, but it leaves a bit troubled in that it is light in advice on ethics, though some of the examples given are telling. Documentaries have long been a favored form of the left-wing for propagandistic purposes. Many times, documentaries expose genuine social evils. Unfortunately, all too often they just make things up. Think of the Alar scare some years back. Think of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" which a British court found to contain untruths and misstatements. In short, documentary storytelling should be honest even when promoting a particular point of view. This makes the creative process much more difficult, of course, and doesn't lend itself to provoking fear and controversy. Essentially Bernard devotes two pages to ethics under the heading of "Documentary or Diatribe?" In my opinion, not only is it not enough, but Bernard seems to me to be taking a "wink wink, nudge nudge" stance on the issue.

Bu the reality is that Bernard is not writing a text on the ethics of the documentary film. She is writing a text on storytelling in the documentary and this goal she does extremely well in achieving.

Jerry

Lots of information - worth a second read
By the time I finished the book, which ends with detailed interviews with successful documentary makers, I had forgotten the details of the first half of the book.I think this is more due to the large amount of information for someone to absorb than it is to any deficiency in communication.I'll be reading this book again soon.

great text
I am thoroughly impressed with Ms. Bernard's book and I intend to use it to teach my Documentary Filmmaking course this fall. It is rare to find a book so full of wisdom and so well-written. The emphasis on storytelling rather than production how-to is in line with the way I intend to teach. Thanks for this gem.

Easy read
Coming from someone with little to no experience with documentaries, this book seems to fly by as a clear and concise "how-to" book for documentarians.The author's many examples were very helpful. ... Read more

Product Description
Two classic drawing textbooks from anAmericancomics pioneer,revised and enhanced for a new generation.Based on Will Eisner’s legendary course at New York’s School of Visual Arts, these guides haveinspired generationsof artists, students,teachers, and fans. In Comics and Sequential Art, Eisner reveals thebasic building blocksandprinciples of comics, including imagery, theframe, and the application of time,space, andvisual forms.Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative teaches how to control astory effectively usinga broad array of techniques.With examples from Eisner’s own catalog and suchmasters as H. Foster, R. Crumb, ArtSpiegelman, Milton Caniff, AlCapp, and George Herriman,these books distill the art of graphic storytelling into principles that every comicartist, writer,and filmmaker should know. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative
This is the bible on making graphic novels. Will Eisner is the true master of the craft. The guy was a true genius! If you are thinking of writing/drawing a graphic novel, read this book.

Useful tips for the beginner artists
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3MNY0NX2LDI3M Telling a good story is an incredibly difficult. In this book, Will Eisner shares with readers some of things to be aware of when tackling storytelling using comics.

He talks about techniques to use to help build a more convincing story. This would include comic tools like lettering, building momentum, using visual clues and writing. Examples include how props (i.e. guns) are held to reveal human characteristics.

There are lessons on how to engage readers, how readers think and mistakes to avoid. These are followed with lots of comic strip examples -- including a selection from different comic artists. Unfortunately, they aren't captioned page by page like it was done on his other books. The comic examples are great, you know it but you don't know why they work.

The book doesn't really go in depth into all aspects of storytelling. There's no talk on character development, story arcs, conflict management and specific story elements and tools.

Overall, this is still a very useful book for anyone who's just starting out and thinking of drawing their own comics.

(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

An excellent reference for comic book artists!
great reference book. love it for it's content. don't expect to get through it in a day or two, though. it's definately a text book written for teaching. chock full of awesome illustrations and clear, easy to grasp content.

Mater Piece
the title talk itself, Will Eisner is a master, he never enter to the universe of the spandex heroes, if you don't like the espandex, or you try to understand the comics, or not only comics, visual narrative inself, this is your book.

4 out of 5
First off, Eisner does a great job of combining visual elements with his text in this book. The whole thing is illustrated with cavemen working on their storytelling technique, and I have to admit that the cavemen illustrations were great fun and always helped to clarify the how side of what he was saying in the text. Beautifully done. (Yes, I know, this is like saying, "Hey, y'know that Hemingway guy? Some of his stories were really good.")

Does it have any issues? Yes. It's 164 heavily illustrated pages. You can read it in an afternoon. And some of the illustrative pieces feel over-long for the point they are trying to prove. I hit the point on a couple of them where I found myself saying, "Yes, I get it. We needed the X in the beginning so we would understand Y now. Can we move on?" I also felt that, at 164 pages, he didn't really have the opportunity to go into depth on some areas. There's a point where he provided two bad examples of a comic script... and no good example. Aaaaah!

Even with those issues in mind, I have to give the book 4 caped crime-fighters out of five. It's well-written (though there are also some grammatical gaffs that make me want to scream), it's engaging, and it's instructive. Worth the read. ... Read more

Product Description

Updated and improved, with new case studies and conversations with award-winning filmmakers including Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side), James Marsh (Man on Wire), and Deborah Scranton (The War Tapes).

Product Description
Whether speaking in front of a small gathering or a large congregation, public speaking strikes fear into the heart of the bravest person. Plagued by stuttering and resultant school problems, John Walsh still found himself called to be a preacher. He has written The Art of Storytelling to encourage and teach anyone with a fear of public speaking how to speak successfully, confidently, and compellingly. Especially relevant for anyone preparing any form of weekly Bible teaching. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

The Most Important Part Is What Was Left Out
What the description does not tell the reader is that the author is a huge Bible buff. He uses quotes from the bible and even asks the reader to read the bible to do different activities in the book. This is not acceptable. It is not appropriate for a book to use this many references without informing the reader of the potential offensive material. A warning of this is all I ask. I'm not exaggerating, you can turn to virtually any page in this book and you will find a biblical reference or advertisement for Christianity. I felt like this book was trying to convert me, not teach me how to tell good stories.

An Excellent Cover, but...
The constant inclusion of the author's religious opinons dilutes the content and distracts any reader who may be interested in learning the storyteller's art. Any reader who indeed is interested in learning more about the reader's religous opinions would, of course, be delighted.

All in all, the book would not be helpful to anyone other than a total beginner at storytelling and even for the beginner, there must be better sources.
Paul Baum, Ph.D.
Living Historyist

Let's Balance The Last Two Reviews...
The preceding two reviews are each from opposite camps, and are both equally useless.One says the book is completely bad because of its religious bias, which I don't think is fair or accurate.The other review says that the first reviewer is wrong good without any discussion of why.This book is not useless, even to those outside it's target audience; neither is it particularly good even for that audience, and I dispute the implied claim that being written from a Christian perspective makes it inherently better than a similar secular book.

What this book suffers from is not bad writing; it's a bad title and description.This is NOT a secular book.While it's an exaggeration to say that God or Jesus are mentioned in every line, this is quite clearly written by a Christian, for other Christians, and the entire work is steeped in biblical references.

However, that doesn't make it a "piece of crap."What it does make it is a poorly-titled and (at least here on Amazon) -marketed book.This work should state its bias, if not in the title, then at least in the subtitle.It is NOT a general guide on storytelling, which is what both its title and ad blurb appear to indicate.It contains enough Christian references to distract even most Christians I know, never mind someone not from that religious tradition.And that is exactly what Christianity is; a religious tradition.It is NOT the one and only source of grace or divinity.

So, that statement ought to help you determine whether you can get any use from this book.If you read that and said, "blasphemy," or regarded the statement as a one-way ticket south for my soul, this is probably right up your alley.If you said, "hmmm. he may have a point," be wary of this book.And if you said, "right on," or any permutation thereof, steer clear.

That said, it's not badly written, although there's nothing here you won't find in a half-dozen other books on storytelling.In fact, unless non-biblical stories are patently offensive to you, I would say many of the others would probably serve you better (Ramon Ross' "Storyteller" is particularly good, as is Jack Maguire's "Creative Storytelling").They contain more in the way of actual advice.

Basically, what this book has going for it is precisely what the marketing of it seems to have ignored; it's storytelling advice told from a Christian (and, while I don't know the author's background, I would guess somewhere far right at that; you know, the kind of folks who use the word "grace" regularly, and they're serious) perspective.

If that sounds like your cup of tea, you'll probably enjoy this book.

A wonderful book despite a narrow-minded review from Sweden
After reading this book, you realize clearly that critics from Sweden exist in all manners of life and even though they need these books more than others, their blindness keeps them from recognizing how to see grace in life and share it with others.Don't be influenced by the review above.

Piece of crap
I bought this book to learn to improve my storytelling skills but all I got was a book about jesus and god where I can't relate to at all.
Every sentence of this book is about God and priests.
Now I can see how storytelling could be a good thing for priests to learn, but in that case the book should still be objective and maybe at the end have a special chapter how this can be used for priest, but instead this is a book only for priests and fanatics which you can maybe translate into other uses.

So sure, if you are not a priest you may still be able to use this if you put extra much effort to think how this can be used in other ways than just telling the bible, but I would rather recommend you to get a real book written by someone how takes his time to think about the answer of the stuff he writes about instead of just saying it's gods will. ... Read more

Product Description
Francis Glebas, a top Disney storyboard artist, teaches artists a structural approach to clearly and dramatically presenting visual stories. They will learn classic visual storytelling techniques such as conveying meaning with images and directing the viewer's eye. Glebas also teaches how to spot potential problems before they cost time and money, and he offers creative solutions on how to solve them.

* Uses the classic story of '1001 Arabian Nights' to show how to storyboard stories that will engage an audience's attention and emotions.
* With 1001 drawings in graphic novel format plus teaching concepts and commentary.
* All of the storyboarding examples have a real project context rather to engage a very visual audience on their own terms and teaches through demonstration. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

An inspiring and entertaining read
There is no substitute than real world experience in storytelling and your subjective observations contain the core value to "good" storytelling.If it comes from deep within you, it's subjective, if it is about human emotional experience and directed to humans, your experience has an objective effect when channeled to others by way of the art of storytelling.That I believe should logically follow to our many convoluted definitions to what story is.I just want to get that out, because I can see how a negative remark about this book can easily stem from one's argumentative definition about story, which may deter critical readers, but hopefully just attract other critical sophist hell bent on their own opinions on everything they deem worth commenting and advising others about in online forums.

This book isn't trying to aim at pretense in the form of authoritarian advice. And it is most useful for those interested in the art of storytelling for animated films, but it's not a shortcoming in any respect.Simply put, Glebas offers his profound and generous advice and "definitions" to story by presenting the inherent problems in visual storytelling, as he goes through countless examples with the reader which in his approach that person becomes more of an observer to the craft of storyboards.

As an animator trying to break in the industry as a story artist, I've read a good amount of the recommended books directly and indirectly on the subject, from the illusion of life and countless "bibles", to books on live action film and Aristotle's Poetics.But in terms of sheer straight forward utility I found this book very helpful. It has the potential to sharpen my focus and skills.

This is one of the few contemporary books out there on animation that is both informative on the subject(industry insider advice)that goes beyond academic education and like many others has aesthetically pleasing drawings to look at.Although there are so many famous figures in the industry today doing their best to inform and inspire the rest of us, they also heavily focus on marketing their own talent and experience as product. This book shares in context with that trend in some ways but more so is a serious read with a conglomeration of visual content created to back its dialogue.I think the price is well worth the scope and depth you'll get out of this one.

Used this book in a storyboarding class
I enjoyed this book for its insights into visual storytelling. My favorite tip is that visual communication can be constructed grammatically to form complete visual sentences one picture word at a time. At times Glebas gets a little wordy, hitting on many ideas but not nailing them down as clearly or as confidently as others. While certainly not perfect the book offered me too many ideas to receive any less than 5 stars.The book is full of gems. And it was the least expensive text book of the semester.

It was also a real treat to see Glebas demonstrate storyboarding throughout the text.

Freakin' Awesome!
Trust the other reviews on his book so far - this is indeed a 5-star book.One of the best books on stroytelling I've come across.It reads like a cross between Scott McLoud's Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art and Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels and Robert McKee's Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting.And that's high praise indeed.

The Right Stuff
There are a myriad of books being written about animation, about story, about how it's all done. There are authors who have made a living being authors - that is, their primary trade is writing books about things. Other authors have dabbled in the film trade, but not enough to make a living at it - and have turned to writing books to supplement their income (their books are good enough, but make the process too philosophical and ethereal, like those fake teachers you see in the movies).
This is book is different - and it's very rare.This book is about the craft, in glorious and accurate detail, confirmed with supporting research and example, by a practitioner obviously tired of the many evasive books which claim to know the craft but talk about it in dodgey fashion.This is the real stuff, and I devoured this book in less than 8 days.You will, too.

Correction of a mistake
Glebas says, "Altan Loker in his book Film and Suspense states to create suspenseful anxiety we need to activate cinematic wishes, experienced vicariously by the character, for sex, success, and spectacle . . ." This is the exact opposite of what I wrote.

Here is what the dictionary says about vicarious: "Experienced or realized through imaginative or sympathetic participation in the experience of another." I wrote that this is how people explain their emotions induced by the story but that this is a misconception and even a defense mechanism that serves to hide the real source of the spectator's emotions.

I wrote that the real source of the spectator's emotions is his or her own experience, not empathy or sympathy for fictive story characters. The spectator is moved by his or her real wishes related to the fictive story events and by the story events that occur as he or she wished. This makes the spectator feel responsible for what happened in the story and thus makes him or her a character of the story. Consequently, he or she sees the story evebts as real happenings.

The main problem in story telling is to make fictive events look as real events that are happening while the spectator watches or reads about them. The easy and direct way of doing this is to present to the spectator what he or she wishes and likes to see. This is what everyone knows. I called such wishes cinematic wishes and grouped them under three rubrics: sex, success, and spectacle.

What only the masters of drama know is that showing to the spectator what he or she likes to see is not sufficient to make fictive story events look like real. And when the story events don't look real, they don't provide sufficient pleasure and can even become boring. The solution of this problem is to make the spectator feel responsible for the story events as explained above. Many techniques are used to realize this, and when this is realized, the spectator can experience emotions even vicariously because the story events will look like real happenings.

The reader can profit from reading Glebas's book keeping in view the correction made above.

Altan Loker, author of the book "Film and Suspense."
... Read more

Product Description

Must-read for managers on a powerful branding tool of the future.

Up-to-date cases from the business world, plenty of illustrations and easy-to-use tools.

Recommended by managers of top international firms.

Covers both the internal and external benefits of storytelling for a business company.

Danish version sold more than 2000 copies.

Customer Reviews (5)

Good start, Good middle, Great examples
The authors introduce the four key concepts: message, plot, characters, and conflict.There's a "conflict barometer" that could be useful.

Then the authors talk about ways to find raw material and process that information.There are a series of "tests": useful questions to develop and gauge your material to produce a core story.

The main strength of the book lies in the examples, which illustrate the final "product" over and over again.

The limitation of the book lies in the production of raw material.The book does have good ideas on where to look for raw stories, e.g. employees, products, leaders, but it doesn't say how generic ideas like the founding of the company can be made compelling.They instead suggest that the reader get stories from company people that are already good storytellers.

The other limitation of the book lies in the lack of failures.It shows how corporations succeeded in telling a core story, but it doesn't seem to show how corporations can fail to tell a core story, and how they resolved such problems.How do companies deal with the pitfalls that inevitably appear on the road to producing something of quality, which in this case is a core story?

However, such problems are not necessarily critical issues for the target audience.The book spends a considerable amount of the pages on the benefits of a story (which a more advanced reader might find redundant).For businesses that are just beginning to look at stories, this book will convince them that stories can be ways to catalyze outside interest.It is a great introductory book.

While the advanced reader may not gain much in terms of producing a raw story, he or she may gather a set of interesting core stories.An alternative title might be "how to find raw stories and process them into core business stories."

I wouldn't mind borrowing it again to see it again.

Expensive, and design issues
At $40 (after discount), this is a pretty expensive book when you consider the competition.

The more significant issue is the book design. This is the first time that I've actually returned a book due to poor design. The graphics are awful, the typefaces uninspired, and the typesetting is inelegant. This was a mistake for book on branding. Anyone involved in graphic design or the creative side of the advertising business will find it a bit painful.

Sorry that I have no comments on the actual content, but...see above. Might be highly useful to those who are not concerned with design.

Love this book
This is a fantastic book and a great resource.The graphics are very useful and all information is practical.It's my favorite book of the year.
Laura Goodrich

The best how-to book on storytelling
I have been through a number of the most popular books on corporate storytelling, and this is by far the most useful of them. While they all contain a number of case studies, this book goes one step further and actually provides the reader with clear step-by-step guidelines on how to start using storytelling within your own organisation. Budtz, Fog and Yakaboylu evidently have a lot of real-world experience with their subject matter.

Highly informative
It's rare that a European book on branding is endorsed by American gurus such as Philip Kotler, Kevin Kelly and Tom Peters - even marketing guru Seth Godin calls this book "one of the very best marketing books of the year".

The strength of this book is not only its message, but in the simple way it delivers this message - through a range of anecdotes and good illustrations.

Addressing professionals working in management, sales, marketing, PR and human resources "Storyteling - Branding in Practice" is probably the first of its kind to provide a practical, hands-on set of tools for companies to apply storytelling strategically as a source to competive power.

In a few hours the book will give you insights into:
- how storytelling can be applied in a business context
- how and where to find stories about your company or brand
- how to tell these stories in a way that benefits business ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (8)

Big Smile and two thumbs up!
Beautiful, whimsical, heartfelt, poetic, gritty and inspiring are all good words to describe Creative Illustration Workshop. I have been a long time reader of Katherine's blog and an admirer of her artwork. I got the book for a look into her creative process and have been inspired to do some creative storytelling of my own. The quality of the book, printing, and content are first rate. Highly recommended!

Beautiful and practical from cover to cover!
I just received this a couple of days ago having put it on pre-order immediately when I heard about it.This book is really a terrific resource.From the adorable hand drawn map on the inside covers, to materials and process, Creative Illustration has everything covered.What's particularly special about this one is the explanation of her process, which inspired me to run for my art supplies~!I have plenty of how-to art books and this is a really wonderful breath of fresh air.I recommend it, absolutely!!

A Valuable Resource
As a fellow artist what I found so interesting about Katherine Dunn's book is how she describes her own artistic process. This is different for individual artists, of course, and Katherine is able to describe her own process of looking with care, diving in and allowing a piece of art to emerge as her ideas change in the making. She also offers interesting techniques in Photoshop for layering in found objects and images from previous works to add content and texture to a new work. I love her ideas for creative block--trying another kind of creative project to free up the mind and she gives a wonderful example using puppet-making. The book is lavishingly illustrated throughout with full-color examples of Katherine's evocative, narrative paintings. For many of these paintings, Katherine shows step-by-step how she created them which will surely inspire artists and illustrators seeking to experiment with these techniques in their own work. It is also a wonderful compendium of Katherine's work!

Beautiful, inspiring book!
From Michael's wife, Debbie):
My husband and I have loved Katherine Dunn's incredible artwork for years. She never ceases to amaze us.....prolific, imaginative and innovative and talented, Katherine's art is as close as we've seen to the wonderful childlike creativity in one's soul and memory. Her new book was a gift to each other for our 35th wedding anniversary; we are both artists and knew her book would totally inspire us. And it did and will, I'm sure for ages. Her paintings and collages are breathtaking and fresh, her writing is humorous, insightful and poignant and her ideas for other artists are truely amazing. I've already read half the book in two days.....I was so inspired and implemented some of her ideas into a new piece, which I immediately loved. Everyone has talent, it is often just not realized. Katherine's book will help anyone who ever said "they can't draw or paint" feel and see their natural, inborn talent and artistic ability. Her gentle suggestions are thoughtful and really do inspire. We will cherish her book for a long time and use it constantly, because not only it is filled with wonderful ideas, but Katherine's art itself is so creative and amazing, anyone could be motivated to find the artist in themselves by seeing her work. The best gift we ever gave each other!

Debbie and Mike Schramer
Salt Lake City, Utah

Wonderful, Inspiring and Insightful Book
This is a delightful book from start to finish.The art work is fresh and invigorating.As someone who loves to write, but who has never experimented with drawing, this book is absolutely inspiring.I love the way she helps you overcome potential road blocks, with freeing exercises and ideas to help you find your own inner stories and express them creatively.It is beautifully illustrated with page after page of colorful, and thought provoking art work.I would recommend this book to anyone.Especially to those who are looking for a way to help ignite a bit of creative fire. ... Read more

Product Description
We all tell stories. It's one of the most natural ways to share information, as old as the human race. This book is not about a new technique, but how to use something we already know in a new way. Stories help us gather and communicate user research, put a human face on analytic data, communicate design ideas, encourage collaboration and innovation, and create a sense of shared history and purpose. This book looks across the full spectrum of user experience design to discover when and how to use stories to improve our products. Whether you are a researcher, designer, analyst or manager, you will find ideas and techniques you can put to use in your practice. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Case Study: Crafting stories to improve my users' experience
While I am a friend of Kevin's, this book represents my first exposure to his expertise as a user experience professional.I've now put the methods in the book to practical use, and I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants an easy way to get started in improving user experiences.

I am one of the leading organizers of National Robotics Week, a broad initiative supported by industry, academia and nonprofits to raise public awareness of robotics and to celebrate how robots can help students excel in science, technology, engineering and math.After the first National Robotics Week in April 2010, I started to consider how we might be able to improve the website for 2011.Based on my previous work in human-robot interaction and ethnography, I recognize the importance of understanding the user when developing new technology. I haven't had any formal training in user experience, nor are there any UX specialists working in my division.

Needless to say, the thought of reworking the website was overwhelming. We have many, many different groups with an interest in National Robotics Week -- members of the robotics industry, academic researchers, educators from formal and informal learning settings, students of all ages, robot hobbyists and more.I needed a way to organize the experiences that all of these groups had with using the website in 2010, and I needed a way to do it relatively quickly and inexpensively.

I dove into _Storytelling for User Experience_ enthusiastically. Even without a background in user experience, I was able to understand why stories are important and see how to generate my own.I found the plentiful real-life examples and the summaries at the end of each chapter to be particularly helpful.With the book in hand, my small team and I started generating stories to capture the frustrations people had with the existing site and to brainstorm the experiences we wanted them to have the next year.

Using the techniques presented in the book, we wrote a total of seventeen stories. These stories represented over a dozen personas and included a mix of both success and failure stories.We were able to combine our own experiences as site administrators with the feedback we received from users in a way that helped us see usability issues that we might have missed otherwise.By identifying the issues that appeared in multiple failure stories, we generated a list of the most pressing usability problems; the success stories helped us determine what features would best solve those problems.Based on our team's available time and resources, it was easy to prioritize the problems and features.

We now have our list of most-needed features, and we're currently working on implementing them. Thanks to _Storytelling for User Experience_ , the resulting website will be much easier for visitors to use and for us to administer.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve the usability of the technology they create, and especially to those people like me who don't have a strong user experience background or the resources to hire an expert in user experience.You will find that the book is written clearly and that the storytelling methodology is immediately accessible and useful.

Teaching an essential skill
Stories persuade, explain and engage and storytelling is one of the most important skills for a design researcher. In this book Whitney Quesenbery and Kevin Brooks explain their techniques and approach. The book is in part a collection of stories about using storytelling in design that illustrate how and where stories fit into design. For me, many of the most interesting and useful tips were in looking at the structure of stories (particularly comparing a simply told story with an equally compact but more dynamic, convincing and memorable form). As usual with a Rosenfeld Media book, it's all beautifully presented.Whitney Quesenbery has done a great deal to awaken designers to the power of storytelling. Certainly she's changed the way I approach collecting and reporting user research. This book may do the same for you.

Great resource even for those without user experience
This book is a great resource about organizational storytelling-- even for those of us working in other industries and settings. I know I will apply many of the authors' lessons learned to my work in health literacy.

Seinfeld and the User Experience
This book captures many of the concepts that I have been working through as a user experience designer and researcher in the field. UX is everywhere. It is seeped deep within our culture, and permeates our perspective on the world. It is there when George needs to eat a pastrami sandwich before sex on Seinfeld, or when Jerry and Kramer drop a junior mint from the balcony down on an operating table during surgery. These sudden and hilarious experiences are stories that provide insight into cultural norms, and by association, application design. It is the stories of the unexpected that make us laugh, or at the very least pay attention. This book provides insight to the step by step process of working directly with end users as well as project stakeholders to discover user requirements for a digital project. The art and craft of storytelling is a direct path in really understanding the myriad ways people interact with a device or application from both an emotional as well as a physical and utilitarian perspective. Read it, share stories with your clients and have fun!

Useful and userfriendly too
From this book about Storytelling for User Experience, I learned more about Storytelling, even if I read a lots of books on that subject. Also it shows that the writers are working in User Experience (and storytelling) : it is a very easy to read and understand book in itself, 'user friendly' even as a book.

Treating a serious problem with a number of interesting stories, examples, anectodes and a clear text, it is easy to remember too.

I recomend it, and not only to those working in User Experience, like Whitney and my son from which I learned about the subject, but also those wanting to learn about storytelling from another perspective, like me. ... Read more

Product Description
Quickly acquire the knowledge and skills you need to confidently administer, score, and interpret a variety of storytelling techniques

Storytelling techniques are a popular projective approach for assessing many aspects of a person's personality, such as cognitive processes, emotional functioning, and self-regulation. The broad spectrum of techniques includes the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT—the most widely embraced), Roberts-2, and TEMAS (Tell-Me-A-Story). To use these tests properly, professionals need an authoritative source of advice and guidance on how to administer, score, and interpret them. Written by Hedwig Teglasi, a leading researcher of the TAT and other storytelling techniques, Essentials of TAT and Other Storytelling Assessments, Second Edition is that source.

Like all the volumes in the Essentials of Psychological Assessment series, this book is designed to help busy mental health professionals, and those in training, quickly acquire the knowledge and skills they need to make optimal use of major psychological assessment instruments. Each concise chapter features numerous callout boxes highlighting key concepts, bulleted points, and extensive illustrative material, as well as test questions that help you gauge and reinforce your grasp of the information covered.

Fully revised and updated to reflect the current research supporting storytelling techniques, Essentials of TAT and Other Storytelling Assessments, Second Edition reflects the latest data and theory on scoring stories and includes new material on interpreting stories in reference to a person's abilities in cognition, emotion, relationships, motivation, and self-regulation. As well, the author provides expert assessment of the methods' relative strengths and weaknesses, valuable advice on their clinical applications, and several case studies to illustrate best practices for implementing the storytelling approach to personality assessment.

Other titles in the Essentials of Psychological Assessment series:

• Essentials of Assessment Report Writing

• Essentials of PAI Assessment

• Essentials of 16PF Assessment

• Essentials of Neuropsychological Assessment, Second Edition

• Essentials of MillonTM Inventories Assessment, Third Edition

• Essentials of Rorschach Assessment

• Essentials of MMPI-2 Assessment

• Essentials of MMPI-A Assessment

Product Description
Master the Power of Story

When you consider the thousands of years of storytelling that comprise our literary tradition, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the shadow of so many works. But there are common threads that link all stories--from Beowulf and Hamlet to Gone With the Wind and The Godfather to the story you're drafting right now in your head. These threads form the foundation that supports story--a foundation Nancy Lamb shows you how to access and master.

Whether you're writing a novel, a memoir, or a screenplay, The Art and Craft of Storytelling offers time-tested ways to translate a concrete idea into a polished work. In this book, you will find strategies for:

- Creating a successful beginning, middle, and end while moving smoothly from one stage to the next
- Crafting memorable characters, choosing the best point of view for your story, and constructing authentic, compelling dialogue
- Integrating and navigating the more subtle elements of story, such as voice, tone, premise, and theme
- Understanding genres and subgenres and how they apply to your story
- Structuring plots that transform a ho-hum story into a page-turning read

The Art and Craft of Storytelling gives you all the tools you need to contribute your own story to our great tradition, to open new worlds to your readers, and to introduce new ways of thinking. This is the power and purpose of story. And by your writing, this is the tradition you honor. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

I feel like " Grasshopper "!
Wise...Inspirational...Humorous...Clear!!!

I have been searching...searching and I finally found you! I wanted to transition from writing poetry to a novel! I have read several other " How To " books on the subject but " The Art And Craft Of Storytelling " by far surpasses them all.

Nancy Lamb's book...voice, resonated with me immediately, like a talisman initiating me into the mysteries.

Thank You!

The Art and Craft of Storyselling
In this review I am going to use Lamb's book as a vehicle to criticize an invasive breed of writing books in general, then will specify why Lamb's book is horrible in particular.

Today's instructional writing authors have pulled a sneaky maneuver.While it's questionable whether "art", whatever that is, can be taught, it's widely accepted that "craft" can be.Many believe, and I am one, that the underlying skills and usage of the traditional principles of "art" can be improved with instruction and practice.Thus, while we may spend years wrestling with the self-realization and brutal honesty that marks most great artists, and though we may never achieve them, those are still useful years in which to learn the craft of writing clear sentences and studying the nuances of language.

The sneaky maneuver that instructional writing authors have pulled is that the audience of writers looking to improve their craft is only one niche in the market.To appeal to that readership invites limited success, and they're a stuffy lot, to boot.They're a critical, thankless lot who don't tend to write rave reviews on Amazon comment boards.

By broadening the message and tweaking some angles, a puritan nuts-and-bolts guide to craft can become a fantastic, life-changing powerhouse.This is accomplished by also gearing the book toward those who have discovered that art is difficult and are in need of confidence-boosting inspirational messages, and also toward those who have status fantasies of becoming rich and famous authors.In short, more and more of these writing books package themselves as tools for craftspeople, when their contents are aiming for hobbyists looking to be the next J.K. Rowling, or cubicle monkeys fantasizing about writing the great American novel.

It is not my place to judge people's fantasies, and if their particular brand of wealth or fame goal is for some reason wrapped up with the thrill of sitting alone at a desk, let them strive.But it is my place to judge this trend in writing books. Those that appear in the "Writing Reference" section when they would more appropriately be snuggled in with the self-help and therapy books, or in the business or marketing section.

"The Art and Craft of Storytelling" by Nancy Lamb is a perfect specimen reflecting this trend.

The cover is inviting and has no nonsense.The synopsis on the back cover explains that common threads "link all stories" and these threads "form the foundation that supports story".The Table of Contents includes sections called Building Plans, Foundation and Structure, Structural Supports, Interior Design, and Finishing Touches.So far, so good.Good enough to purchase.

But it isn't long before I realize I have been duped.The plain and sober promise of the package need last only long enough to sell the craftsperson, where inside await the real sales: to the insecure artist needing inspiration, and to the status or wealth hungry who dreams of best-seller lists.These are the people who will suggest it to their friends with similar goals, and possibly bring big sales in the lucrative education market, as there are few so short on inspiration or wealth as school teachers.

The book is okay at first, if a little rocky ("Look for owls in your own life"), but really goes south when Lamb begins to describe a writer's internal critic, which she calls "The Bitch":

"For the record:We've all got Bitches.Men have them.Women have them.This is not a gender-specific role.My Bitch happens to be female and speaks in a soft whisper.But if your petty tyrant has a voice that makes pronouncements in a basso profundo and belongs to a man who shaves three times a day, feel free to call him The Son of The Bitch."

That is an example of her tending to the artist who needs therapy rather than a book about writing. It is notable that the author gives the reader permission to determine the gender of your internal critic.Oh, thank you, author.

Here are some examples of her pandering to those who dream of wealth and fame:

After a story breakdown of "Where the Wild Things Are" she writes:

"For the cynics among you who mutter, `Yeah, but that's just a kids' book,' allow me to remind you that this mere kids' book has been in print for forty-five years, sold more than nineteen million copies, and was the basis of an opera, a major museum exhibition, a ballet, and a feature film.This, by anyone's measure, spells success - a literary and commercial success based on classical storytelling verities."

I didn't have any problem with the example of "Where the Wild Things Are" because 1) it's a great book , and 2) even if it weren't, a book doesn't need to be great to provide an instructional example.Rather, my problem arrived courtesy of the author, when she shoved down my throat the fact that I didn't have a choice in the matter.Okay, okay, it's a success.But to be clear, the cynic here is the author, whose suggestion of measuring storytelling quality by market success is dubious at best.

Here is another example:

"...if a scene meanders aimlessly, the reader will lose patience and lose focus.He might even lose interest in the book altogether.Then he'll donate it to the next sale at the local library instead of keeping it and recommending it to his friends at college, where his professor would hear about it and praise your story on a special Web site for writing students - thus increasing your sales exponentially and catapulting your book onto the best-seller list just below the latest Walter Mosley.This gets you the most prominent agent in the business who negotiates a deal for the sale of your next book for $500,000.And that book wins the Pulitzer Prize."

If you needed to change the brakes on your car, so you bought a car repair book, and you turned to the section on brakes, and read, "If you want to be a race car driver, it is very important to fix your brakes correctly," you would rightly be mystified why the author assumes that you want to be a race car driver when you simply want your car to run properly.Likewise if the section continued, "Don't worry.Sometimes we all make mistakes.Working on cars is fun and exciting.Pretend an owl is whispering in your ear and helping you along," you would wonder why the author assumes you need inspirational as well as technical advice.

If this happened in an auto manual, it would appear as completely ludicrous as it is, but because this trend is in writing manuals (which are "artistic"), and is so common and so pervasive, we're supposed to accept this gooey breach of authorial responsibility as a virtue rather than an infectious plague.

6th Grader Reading
Reading this book was several hours of my life I'll never get back.When the author made comparisons to "The Little Engine that Could" I finally thought, "Great, finally some age-appropriate references."If you're a serious writer, don't waste your time here.

Great Book For Beginning Novelists
I was beginning my third (unpublished) novel this April,(2009), when it suddenly occurred to me that I really wasn't sure what I was doing. There must be a reason I'm not a published novelist, besides the wrath of God and life is hard. AHA, I'm not a genius,I must need help! Since mentors are scarce on the ground here in East Texas, I bought several books about fiction-writing techniques. Best thing I've ever done. And of the books I bought, Nancy Lamb's was the most helpful. She told me about concrete technique; for instance, structural design, how to begin, moving foward and backward in the story, structuring scenes, how to write subplot, even how to contact your muse, and more. If in the next few years you see my name on a novel, it will be because I read Ms. Lamb's book.

It's okay, nothing great.
This book has the basics and is very thorough but it doesn't offer anything new. If you don't have any sort of book like this then yah I would recommend it over others but I don't feel like I gained a whole lot and I didn't like a lot of her examples and assumptions she made. I'm glad I'm done with it, lets just put it that way. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

253 pages of bull
The good reviews written about this book must be written by the writer.
There are a couple of good ideas but the rest is the MOST pretentious bull.
He obviouslydoesn't want to share his storytelling secrets
DON'T BUY IT!!
I will give my copy to anyone who sends me the postage (I'm in the south of France)
I was obliged to give this book ONE star, but it doesn't deserve it.

Great Resource
This book is aimed at verbal storytelling; but I applied a lot of the principles to written stories. Very well done, insightful and entertaining.

The Power of Personal Storytelling
This book is an excellent tool for any storyteller or would be storyteller.It leaves no stone unturned.Every type of storytelling is explored and wonderful examples are given, as well as a wealth of quotes from authors and storytellers, and more.It has been my major reference when encouraging others to tell their own personal stories and enrich the lives of their children in the telling process.

suprise
Good approach: listen first, find your stories, present them, etc. The book is easy to read and full of stimulating material and examples.

Not the best book for learning to tell stories.
Mr. Maquire is obviously a gifted oral storyteller; however, writing is clearly not his best medium. Maquire believes that storytelling is a wonderful thing, and he spends most of his time telling you why it's important instead of explaining how to tell stories.

Be prepared to read, over and over and over again, to the benefits of storytelling ad nauseum. As you read the following excerpt, pay attention to how little direction he gives, and how much soft talk he employs.

"... Our stories are precious to us. They become even more spirtiually potent when we take special care of them and craft them into more conscious and complete -- or, if you will, wholistic-- form. Simply embodying these products of our own genius, without communicating them directly to others, give us greater personal integrity and power. We can draw on them privately for solace, centering, grounding, and decisionmaking. If and when we do tell them to others, we transmit to our listeners a refreshing form of living energy that is undeliverable, and unobtainable, in any other fashion."

Wow, what a mouthful, but all is not lost. As I stated before, Maguire is a gifted storyteller, and the best parts of the book contain snippets of his stories. Reading those stories will wake you after that drowsy feeling from reading his repetitive prose. And if you're patient enough to wade through such garrulous writing, you will find some valuable insight into the art of storytelling.

So I'm divided on this book. I'm surprised that someone who can tell such a good story can do such an average job of explaining his craft. ... Read more

Product Description
Quite simply, Creative Storytelling is one of the best and most comprehensive books on telling stories.This newly expanded, beautifully illustrated, step-by-step guide tells readers about sources and types of stories; how to gear stories toward children of different ages and interests; techniques for remembering and adapting stories; and how to use personal experiences to create new stories.One chapter takes a story through the complete storytelling process, with specific tips on tone, pacing, and atmosphere.A special section examines how storytelling leads to a wide range of other creative activities.This edition also features a new section on storytelling and environmentalism, with information on creating stories that foster environmental awareness. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Learning the Art of Storytelling
Storytelling is almost a lost art, but many fond childhood memories involve a captivating story told at bedtime, or around a campfire, or perhaps during a designated storytelling hour. This is a how-to-manual which teaches the basics in a clear concise manner. The book contains well grounded concepts for use in imaginative flights of fancy.

The chapters divide the subject matter into manageable parts so the skill can be easily learned. Chapters include -- Stories and Storytelling, Types of Stories, Finding Stories for Different Listeners, Remembering and Adapting Stories, Creating Your Own Stories, Telling Stories and Beyond Storytelling. Within these chapters is a wealth of detail to assist the adult in entering the world of the child. The author provides the basic storytelling formula and ways to adapt the story to the listener while maintaining the individual style of the teller and incorporating observation, experience and imagination.

To continue the tradition of storytelling seems a sacred trust, something we must not permit to fade away, and this book will enable anyone interested in the pursuit to excel. The book is a gem.

Fall in love with stories!
If you aren't already completely enamored with stories and storytelling, this book will totally ensnare your heart! I am a teacher and bought it for some tips on telling stories and also to give my students ideas on writing them. As if I didn't already love stories enough this book made me want to read every single legend, folktale, and myth in print! I learned a lot about storytelling, writing your own stories and collecting the best stories. It is perfect for anyone that wants to spin a yarn with finesse and please an audience! Storytelling is a dying art and needs to be preserved. This book does it's part in training new storytellers to enter the magic world of storytelling. Highly recommend it!

Great tool for creating, developing, and telling stories
This is absolutely the best book I've found on storytelling for parents.The content makes logical sense, and is more of a "How-to" guide than any other book I've seen on the subject.If you are an aspiring storyteller with a small child (or children), this book will help you tell and/or create stories.Engaging your children in stories is also a great way to avoid the zombie tube.

A wonderful book for those who work with children.
Children NEED to hear stories, and not just from books.They especially need their parents to spend time with them, and storytelling is a wonderful way to do this.

This book is full of good information, including some of the history of storytelling.Among others, there is a chapter on learning stories to tell, and another to help with creating your own stories.There is also an �afterward� that addresses storytelling in relation to environmentalism.

Creative Storytelling is a book intended for parents, teachers, day care providers and librarians.It would also be a worthy read for camp counselors.I would recommend it to people in any of these positions.

Excellent source book for anyone interested in storytelling
As a resource for families, teachers, and librarians, this book is readable and reliable.The stories and suggestions about how to tell stories are especially useful. I have used the book for over 8 years in my work as a storyteller in the classroom. ... Read more

Product Description

Scott McCloud tore down the wall between high and low culture in 1993 with Understanding Comics, a massive comic book about comics, linking the medium to such diverse fields as media theory, movie criticism, and web design. In Reinventing Comics, McCloud took this to the next level, charting twelve different revolutions in how comics are generated, read, and perceived today. Now, in Making Comics, McCloud focuses his analysis on the art form itself, exploring the creation of comics, from the broadest principles to the sharpest details (like how to accentuate a character's facial muscles in order to form the emotion of disgust rather than the emotion of surprise.) And he does all of it in his inimitable voice and through his cartoon stand–in narrator, mixing dry humor and legitimate instruction. McCloud shows his reader how to master the human condition through word and image in a brilliantly minimalistic way. Comic book devotees as well as the most uninitiated will marvel at this journey into a once–underappreciated art form.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (45)

Very useful read
I found this book both helpful and fascinating as it shows the secrets to making comics stand out. I am considering being a comic book writer/artist (although the video game field is first priority for me), so this book can prove useful. Of course, I feel this book can be useful in other ways...

LOVE THIS BOOK!
I love this book.The illustrations are great and the information and instructions are valuable.It's fun to read and look at the cartoons.

This book is ESSENTIAL reading for anyone who wants to make comics
I'll keep it short and sweet...With Making Comics, Scott McCloud gives a quick overview of the large points of his seminal 'Understanding Comics' and then proceeds to teach the reader the language of comics. If you're here looking for a book to teach you the craft of making a comic, do it. Commit. This is your book.

Incredible Book and Great Fun!
If you are an aspiring comic book creator/writer/artist, this book is for you, it gives you the broad technical overview of comic book making that is just not available in most art books nowadays, including the DC Comics books on comic book writing (to be fair the DC comics series does have all the material it's just spread out over several different books and not nearly as well organized nor as concisely communicated).Making Comic Books is a fun read and is a worthy companion to its predecessor, Understanding Comics.Buy this book, and if you haven't bought Understanding Comics, buy that too, and read them in order (not that you have to, but you'll just enjoy it more that way).

a must if you wanna create comics/manga
this teaches you everything you need to know, from paneling, to creating believeable characters, to perspictive, and covers everything pretty much... ... Read more

Product Description
In a book as entertaining as it is enlightening, Kristin Thompson offers the first in-depth analysis of Hollywood's storytelling techniques and how they are used to make complex, easily comprehensible, entertaining films. She also takes on the myth that modern Hollywood films are based on a narrative system radically different from the one in use during the Golden Age of the studio system. Drawing on a wide range of films from the 1920s to the 1990s-from Keaton's Our Hospitality to Casablanca to Terminator 2-Thompson explains such staples of narrative as the goal-oriented protagonist, the double plot-line, and dialogue hooks. She demonstrates that the "three-act structure," a concept widely used by practitioners and media commentators, fails to explain how Hollywood stories are put together. Thompson then demonstrates in detail how classical narrative techniques work in ten box-office and critical successes made since the New Hollywood began in the 1970s: Tootsie, Back to the Future, The Silence of the Lambs, Groundhog Day, Desperately Seeking Susan, Amadeus, The Hunt for Red October, Parenthood, Alien, and Hannah and Her Sisters. In passing, she suggests reasons for the apparent slump in quality in Hollywood films of the 1990s. This work will be of interest to movie fans, scholars, and film practitioners alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Finally some real INSIGHT in a screenwriting book
I have read some three dozen books on screenwriting -- most just rehashes of what others have already said.They tend to be mostly accurate but never helpful or illuminating.But Kristin Thompson's book is different and here's my analogy explaining how:If screenwriting was a foreign language then those other manuals might be able to teach you the mechanics (vocabulary and grammar), but Thompson will make you fluent.I can not recommend this book highly enough.

Check it out at the library
This book analyzes 10 movies -- their structure, plot points, etc, protagonists, antagonists, etc.It didn't take me long to get through the book because several of the chapters focus on movies I didn't like.

Once through the book and I think you'll find all you need.This isn't one that you pick up again and again to get you through the rough spots.Borrow it from your local library, spend a day or two pulling out what you need and then return it.There are many other books that will be more useful to you as references.

Shatters The Myth of "3-Actitis" And Other Hollywood Fables
While this book covers some of the same ground (if not the same exact screenplays) as Thomas Pope's well-written GOOD SCRIPTS, BAD SCRIPTS, Ms. Thompson clearly knows her stuff.

Just to have an educated author presentan argument against 3-Act structure is provacative (Hollywood wantsformulas, not new paradigms). In the rush to collapse the shelves ofbookstores across America, too many "how-to-write-a-screenplay"tomes have twisted the 3-act structure into a cliched checklist far removedfrom any aesthetic considerations.This book shows the limitations of notonly the 3-act philosophy, but other screenwriting "rules" aswell.

While the critiques of all the films were full of insights, Ipreferred the chapters which discussed the differences/similarities between"old Hollywood" and "new Hollywood" with regard to"classic" storytelling and today's movies'cookie-cutter-characters with every-plot-point-in-its-place.

For bothwriters and the viewers this book proves to be a thought-provoking read notonly about film, but the nature of story itself.You'll never look atmovies, or your own memories, the same. ... Read more