Long Story Short: The Only Storytelling Guide You'll Ever Need

I expected this book to explain how to tell a story for the purpose of writing stories. I didn’t realize it was to explain how to tell stories to a crowd in person live. didn’t even know that form of entertainment existed but it was interesting to learn about!The biggest lesson I learned has to be to be a good story teller, you need to keep having new experiences. So that was a nice reminder to keep signing up for events or getting out of the house just cuz u never know what story may come out of it that you can use later for your content.

This kindlebook of Long Story Short: The Only Storytelling Guide You'll Ever Need by Margot Leitman captures some of the author’s experiences as it relates to her ideas for storytelling. Leitman also bluntly admits that some people wishing to spice up their writing may want to live a life in a way that is a little riskier without venturing too much in the danger zone. I admit that this advice was a splash of cold water to my face (metaphorically speaking) because I am blessed with an abundance of free time and a loving husband who is supportive of my writing goals. However, I am in the process of learning and implementing in taking risks in various areas of my life in a harm-free manner. Reitman also bluntly shares that some of the best writing comes from writers who have successfully found a way to put imperfections in their writings with just the right amount of happy scenarios/endings. Reitman politely gives examples of working with very religious people who wanted to create stories with very few imperfections in them. She tactfully explains that this in on the similar extreme of gifted writers who may want to only focus on the dark sides/challenging outcomes with benefiting from more positive outcome additions to their stories and more tidbits. I admit that I am still in the process of working on that angle due to my intuitive and logical awareness that the outcome to a person’s imperfections/flaws is sometimes indirectly influenced by how much outside the mainstream a writer/author is. In other words, even I know that two authors can expose similar imperfections in their writings, but the harsh truth is that I have picked up on and seen is that sometimes the person who is most celebrated for being true to themselves fits into the mainstream ideal in some way when it comes to their attractiveness, personality,intelligence, the family background that they came from etc. In contrast, I have seen examples of people who exposed their flaws in a harm-free manner and were not met with the same support from others in their circle (family, friends)and/orevenmisunderstood/demonized.

In short: This is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to be better at telling stories. This is a skill I've wanted to develop, so I started with this book. Really glad I did. In fact, it ended up winning me major Boyfriend Points.I offered my copy of the book to my girlfriend when she had to attend a company retreat and participate in a get-to-know-you exercise where everyone had to tell a two-minute story. We're talking about standing up and telling a personal anecdote in front of an audience of about fifty coworkers, managers, and direct-reports. Oh, and my girlfriend has social anxiety. So, needless to say... there was a good bit of hand-wringing and deliberation over this exercise.Imagine how happy I was when she came back from the retreat glowing and excited to tell me about how well her story had gone. Not only did it feel good and comfortable to tell, but it also got a lot of positive feedback. Her coworkers really enjoyed it. She had directly applied many of the concepts explained so clearly and entertainingly in Long Story Short and hit the ball out of the park.Buying Long Story Short is a favor you can do for yourself if you want to be better at storytelling. It might even burnish your reputation as a partner.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, and everything in the description seemed promising, but suddenly, midway in, on describing 'truth', she clearly states: "Unless you are attempting a more folklorish (her backhanded dismissal of fiction) style of storytelling, a form I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ... just stick with the truth."I would've preferred her to have 'stuck with the truth' in the book's description, since memoirists for a tiny portion of the book published every year. Thus, this book is simply a case of 'bait and switch', where she pretends to describe storytelling, but is only including the smallest of storytelling categories.So, if you aren't writing a personal memoir, don't even consider this book!

I like the focus on exercises that she asks you to do yourself. It is a very actionable treatise.Though not as powerful as McKee's story nor as broad, this is a valuable in its own sphere of storytelling.NOTE: here emphasis is on TRUE stories from real life. It's only second cousin to fictional storytelling, so actionable to a much lesser degree in that context. This does not diminish her work, the focus improves its quality because her focus prevents tangents or venturing into territory that isn't in her direct expertise.

OK

I recommend this book, very good, worth of money.

Compelling, readable, awesome stories. The book to read on this subject. Buy it now!

Deceptively simple looking book that really tells you the secrets of writing what others will want to read. The author is funny -- charming actually -- but you will quickly understand how pertinent her advice is. I venture to say that if you don't understand her your chances of being a good writer of anything other than academic papers is next to zero. Go for it! You'll carry it around with you forever -- or at least until you've got everything in it memorized.

This book is about how to tell a story, not how to write one. Still, it helped me a lot and I enjoyed and had so much fun reading it. It has some tips about structure of the story, but its main focus is storytelling as an act (kind of stand up comedy, but focused on telling a personal story).