Articles
On the whole, the articles listed on this page relate to writing and storytelling.
In the first part, I created a list of articles I wrote that focus on writing a novel. Thereafter, I’ve created an alphabetical list of articles written by others. They have been collected over many years.
You are welcome to consider any of the articles listed below for publication in your website/blog/newsletter. Permission is granted to reprint for free with the resource box and byline intact (this information is placed at the bottom of each article).
To view the articles, just click on the article you would like to view and you will be taken to the appropriate page.
I am aware the list is long. So, please don’t get overwhelmed and close this page. Do take some time to view it. Scroll down the list (all entries have been placed in alphabetical order) and I’m sure you’ll find something of interest.
It Is Very Hard to Write about Happiness On the New York Times website, two authors ask this question: Is it harder to write about happiness than its opposite? They discuss the difficulties in writing about happiness. Having ghost written a few biographies in the past, and working on fiction, there is no doubt in my mind that it is very hard to write about happiness. This is particularly the case when ghost writing biographies. I’ve always likened ghost writing biographies to visiting a house. As a guest, you have to be grateful that you’ve been allowed into the house…
Published in
Articles
Why Review Poetry A month or so ago, I received an email from Glyn Pope. He attached a review copy of a new chapbook, Shh! and asked if we would review it. This book was a collection of poems by John Eliot. Since I was a child, I’ve had difficulty with poetry. Even in school, when we had to do the Bahasa Malaysia paper and had a choice between deciphering Pantun (which is Malay poetry) and Sastera Melayu (Malay Literature), I always chose the latter because it was much easier to understand and many of the stories were derived from…
Published in
Articles
ISBN in Malaysia One of the most important details of any book is actually the ISBN. ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number and is the means by which a books is identified. I was, therefore, pleased that in today's StarMag, Daphne Lee wrote a very informative piece on this subject: ISBNs comprise 13 digits as of January 2007. The change has come about as a result of numbering shortages, which should be good news to book lovers because it means that there are so many books published that we were running out of 10-number combinations. This is what the…
Published in
Articles
Should Storytellers Work for Free? In several past articles, I have sung the virtues of volunteering and giving. But, as many storytellers have learned – some the hard way – working and performing for free has many drawbacks. We are often excited to have the opportunity to share our passion for storytelling. So, where do we draw the line? This article shares some of the ideas that were sent to the StoryTell List when this discussion thread was started. Note: to become a member of this helpful, interactive list, click HERE and follow the directions for subscribing. From Mary Hamilton…
Published in
Articles
Tuesday, 01 July 2014 05:05
"Sevens" and Ways to Use the Magic of Numbers for Storytelling
Written by Aneeta Sundararaj
"Sevens" and Ways to Use the Magic of Numbers for Storytelling Previously, I wrote about the prevalence of the number "three" in stories and story structure. Because this article received a great deal of attention, I decided it was time to investigate another number that crops up in titles, how-tos and stories - the number seven. After several hours of research about the number seven, I not only learned more than you and I would ever need or want to know about the number seven, but also found that this investigation sparked many other ideas about using numbers to enhance…
Published in
Articles
Making Linear Storytelling Interactive Movies and video games coexisted symbiotically for years. A video game would come out well after the film it was based on. The game was often an afterthought, sometimes developed using a movie character, but little else. Now, games are released simultaneously with or even in advance of major motion pictures. George Lucas took this approach with the final "Star Wars" film. The video game was released weeks ahead of the movie. A colleague recently saw "War of the Worlds." He didn't like it. It felt like a video game, he said. It didn't feature the…
Published in
Articles
Magazines for Women Every year we are seeing new women's magazines appear on the market, to join the masses already published. How can we determine which are the best value? It's easy to spend at least $20 per month, which totals upwards of $240 each year. Most magazines target a particular demographic, so it's wise to check out any ones you think might find interesting, before buying or subscribing. The teen magazine market has grown tremendously from as recently as seven years ago. Before then, Seventeen and YM were pretty much the only choices. Now you can find Teen People…
Published in
Articles
The Story of Becoming a Storyteller When I first discovered that there was such a job as storyteller, I was 30-something and enrolled in teacher school in St. Louis (home to a warm and wonderful group of tellers). As I finished my teaching degree, I focused more and more on classroom applications of storytelling and saw first-hand the results on student motivation and achievement. Before I even graduated I knew that storytelling was my calling. SO I MADE A PLAN. Unlike many artists, I have a strong background in business planning. I knew that my bread and butter as a…
Published in
Articles
Thursday, 26 June 2014 17:14
Storytellers: turning our experiences into art
Written by Aneeta Sundararaj
Storytellers: turning our experiences into art Though animal sculptures have been produced for centuries by the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, storyteller figurines are a relatively modern art form. Helen Cordero, an artist of the Cochiti Pueblo, is attributed with its invention. Now these highly expressive sculptures are produced by many artists from several different pueblos. For an art teacher, storyteller figures offer an exciting change of pace from standard coil pots. For an art student, producing a storyteller figure is an opportunity to explore symbolism, sculpture, coil-construction and the relationship between our experiences and art. START WITH A STORY…
Published in
Articles
How to select the printer Before you decide what kind of digital printing you want to buy you should be very clear about your needs. You have to take this decision on various levels depending on what your requirements are. For example you have to decide whether you want an inkjet printer or a laser printer, and what size of the printer would suffice your requirements. As a matter of fact, selecting the right kind of printer can be quite a challenging job. The two main types of printers are inkjet printers and laser printers. Laser printers use a laser…
Published in
Articles
More...
Storytelling tips for Teachers Helping Children Choose Stories *Preselect a pool of stories for younger children and students who have never told a story. *Tell or read examples of different kinds of stories. *Each student should consider their audience before choosing a story. *Each student should also read at least five stories before choosing his/her story to tell. *Every students should tell a different story. Helping Children Learn Their Stories There are many ways to learn a story. Listed below are some suggested ways. *Read it over and over again... tape it and listen to it repeatedly. *Make a pictorial…
Published in
Articles
Thursday, 19 June 2014 16:57
Storytelling can be a valuable teaching aid
Written by Aneeta Sundararaj
Storytelling can be a valuable teaching aid AORN Journal, Sept, 2000 by Carolyn A. Ramsey Storytelling is not a new concept for teaching others. Narratives in the Bible and Native American folklore are prime examples. For generations, we have relied on stories from our ancestors to teach us values and expectations. Storytelling can be used to teach any topic to any group of individuals. Most people like to talk about their past experiences, and with a little refinement, storytelling can be used effectively for teaching and precepting in the perioperative setting. Stories that capture what nursing is all about are…
Published in
Articles
Telling a great story - storytelling Camping Magazine, July-August, 1998 by Sandy Cameron Mention storytelling to campers and they may think of an overexaggeration or lie they told their friends. Storytelling, the art of bringing a story to life through the inflection in one's voice, rhythm, facial expressions, and hand movements, is becoming popular today. In a society where television and computers paint pictures for children, they rarely need to visualize a story in their mind. Storytelling makes children use their imagination to picture the story. It also teaches them about the nuances of the language and helps them improve…
Published in
Articles
Thursday, 19 June 2014 03:47
The lost art of storytelling - parents telling stories to children - includes storytelling tips
Written by Aneeta Sundararaj
The lost art of storytelling - parents telling stories to children - includes storytelling tips Better Homes & Gardens, August, 1995 by Bob Baldwin Ever since humans first learned to speak, parents have told stories to their children. Storytelling has the power not only to entertain, but to teach, to heal, and to transmit traditions and family lore from one generation to the next. Yet in this electronic age, families are in danger of losing their storytelling heritage. "The tradition of telling stories within the family has really suffered," says Jay O'Callahan, one of America's best-known professional storytellers. "In times…
Published in
Articles
Latest Posts
-
Sakshi
Written by Aneeta SundararajI have been in a state of ‘emotional unwell-being’ for seven years. There, I’ve said it. Why? Well, after my father died, I believed that if I reached out with love to ‘good friends’, counsellors, suitors, and relatives, there could be pockets of joy to offset my grief and loneliness,…
-
The Creative Industry Needs to Look at Things Differently Post Budget 2022
Written by Aneeta SundararajOn 29 October 2021, the Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz tabled Budget 2022 in the Malaysian parliament. RM50 million has been allocated for the arts and culture industry. This comes after a year and a half after the entire industry came to an absolute standstill. With…
-
‘The Covid Positives’ – life lessons learnt from the pandemic by Phanindra Ivatury
Written by Aneeta SundararajAfter a long drawn battle with the biggest catastrophe in our living memory, global humanity is finally getting to see some quintessential ray of light at the end of the treacherous tunnel in the form of COVID-19 vaccines, currently being rolled out to all parts of the globe. A ‘COVID-19…
-
Chaos of Whole Books
Written by Aneeta SundararajIs it possible to read several books at once? Aneeta Sundararaj finds out.When I was a child, my cousin used to boast that he could read four storybooks at a time. As an adult, when he invested in an e-Reader, he continued to boast that he could…
-
Writing for You? Or for Me?
Written by Aneeta SundararajWriting for You? Or for Me? ‘You must always write with your reader in mind.’ This was one of the first pieces of advice that I received when I began my writing career. Honestly, I found this extremely hard to do because more often than not, I couldn’t picture my…