"A prolific and award-winning writer, Lee Martin has put pen to paper to offer his wisdom, honed during thirty years of teaching the oh-so-elusive art of writing. Telling Stories is intended for anyone interested in thinking more about the elements of storytelling in short stories, novels, and memoirs. Martin clearly delineates helpful and practical techniques for demystifying the writing process and providestools for perfecting the art of the scene,...

"'There's nothing in the world more powerful than a good story. Nothing can stop it. Nothing can defeat it.' Thus spake Tyrion in the final episode of Game of Thrones, claiming the throne for Bran the Broken. Many viewers liked neither the choice of king nor its rationale. But the claim that story brings you to world dominance seems by now so banal that it's common wisdom. Narrative seems to have become accepted as the one and only form of knowledge...

When Little Red Chicken comes home excited about what she learned in school, she explains to Papa that every story has "an elephant of surprise."

When twins Toby and Tess meet a mysterious old traveller, they are fascinated by his magical tales of far-off places, strange enchantments, and miracles.

A group of toys, left out at night for the first time, begins to be afraid but the WonderDoll distracts them by weaving a story of lost toys, space travel, and a strange alien.

In a small Midwestern town, two Asian American boys bond over their outcast status and a mutual love of comic books. Meanwhile, in an alternative or perhaps future universe, a team of superheroes ponder modern society during their time off. Between black-ops missions and rescuing hostages, they swap stories of artistic malaise and muse on the seemingly inescapable grip of market economics. Gleefully toying with the conventions of the novel, Dear...

Readers are invited to invent their own stories by looking at a series of detailed illustrations.

After many years of retirement, an old Kamishibai man--a Japanese street performer who tells stories and sells candies--decides to make his rounds once more even though such entertainment declined after the advent of television.

Two young storytellers start with "once upon a time" but quickly realize that a good story needs action, danger, and most of all, a happy ending.

Introduces fables and describes how to identify a legend by its themes, content, and setting, and includes selected famous legends and explains how to critically and creatively analyze each one. Describes the defining characteristics of a fable, discusses where fables come from, why people tell fables, and what role fables play in various cultures, recounts popular fables, and explains how to write a fable.