Rocca, Mo, 137–38
Rocky (film; 1976), 285
romantic comedies, 118–20
romps, 103
Rotten Tomatoes, 144
Rudy (film; 1993), 285
Ruest, Paul, 312
São Paulo (Brazil), 59–60
Sarah Lawrence College, 137–38
secrets, 124, 306
self-deprecation, 135, 284–87, 304
self-monitoring, 65
self-praise, 135
Sesame Street (TV show), 252
setup/punch line, 248–50
“Sex with Corn” (story; Dicks), 164–65
shame, stories about, 117
“Shoe Thief” (story; Dicks), 247
simplicity, 127–29, 174–75, 180
Smith, Kevin, 323
Smith, Zadie, 76
Soderbergh, Steven, 128, 129, 180
“Solitude of the Storyteller, The” (Story Break), 322
Something Missing (novel; Dicks), 224–25
South Park (TV show), 202
space, compression of, 174
Speak Up (Hartford, CT), 17–18, 77, 140, 266, 297
specificity, 250
spelling, 65
Spider-Man Principle of Meetings and Presentations, 323–24
Spielberg, Steven, 103, 104, 121
Springsteen, Bruce, 263
stakes: audience and, 141, 144, 150–51, 153, 154, 155–56; boring stories and, 142, 157; in film, 141–42, 151; humor and, 158–59; importance of, in successful stories, 159; at Moth events, 139–41; story selection and, 157, 158; surprise accentuated by, 231–32
stakes, strategies for improving: Backpacks, 150–52, 231; Breadcrumbs, 152–53; Crystal Balls, 156–57; Elephants, 144–50; Hourglasses, 153–56
Star Wars: A New Hope (film; 1977), 133, 142, 285
Stone, Matt, 202
story beginnings: in author’s stories, 122–27, 129–31, 132–33; choosing, 116, 122, 131–32; in film, 120–21, 128–29, 133–34; first vs. best ideas for, 124–25; importance of, 122; as opposite of five-second moments, 117, 120–21, 123, 259–60; poor examples, 185–86; in romantic comedy setups, 118–20; simplifying for, 127–29; tips, 131–32
Story Collider, 113
story crafting, 182; for brevity, 221–22; model stories for, 93–98, 207–11. See also big stories; but-and-therefore principle; cinema of the mind; five-second moments; humor; lies, permissible; stakes, strategies for improving; story beginnings; story/stories: endings of; surprise
story/stories, 219–20; adding to, 166; “and” stories, 196–97; arc of, 118, 134, 260; boring, 142, 157, 329; change over time reflected in, 26, 103, 111, 112, 115, 117–18, 203, 287–88 (See also five-second moments); changing order of, 176–77; coat metaphor for, 171–72; Dinner Test for, 33–35; endings of, 115–18, 172–73, 247–48, 257–64; essays vs., 187, 229; fables/folktales vs., 25–26; finding in everyday life, 13, 37–42, 79 (see also Crash & Burn; First Last Best Worst; Homework for Life); finding meaning of, 257–64; hidden information in, 232–35; humor as asset in, 242 (see also humor); length of, 221–22; memorizing, 34, 316–17; oral vs. written versions, 93–94, 127–28; of other people, 31; performance vs. dinner-party versions, 33; as personal narrative, 25, 28–33; romps vs., 103; “seeing” in the mind’s eye, 276–77; stakes in, 142–43 (see also stakes); theater vs., 322; vacation/drinking stories vs., 26, 27, 202–3; word choice in, 295. See also big stories; story beginnings
“Storyteller and a Magician, A” (Story Break), 280–81
storytellers: audience relationship with, 34, 118, 121–22, 158, 206, 295–96; author’s advice to, 258–59; backstory setups used by, 191; camaraderie among, 114; doubters of, 181–83; goal of, 158, 213, 291–92; humor and, 247; likability of, 247; nervousness experienced by, 311–15; performance tips, 315–21; physical presence of downplayed, 295–96; professional, repertoire of, 52; as protagonists, 31–33; reputation of, 302–3; stories “seen” by, 276–77; “superpowers” of, 324, 329–30
storytelling: as art, 21; author as teacher of, 18–21; author’s background in, 2–5, 12–13; author’s reason for, 59–60; benefits of, xiii–xiv, 20, 23–25, 79; as cinema of the mind, 186; comedy vs., xiv–xv, 242; contrast as used in, 245; effective, 200; everyday uses of, 323–30; goal of, 213; performance tips, 315–21; rehearsal methods, 279; success stories, 283–88; tense choice in, 269–78; as time travel, 291–96; unexpected connections/reconnections from, 265–66, 280–81; word choices in, 303–8
“Storytelling Instruction Can Apparently Be Romantic” (Story Break), 77
storytelling lens, 46, 49, 50, 56, 87
“Storytelling Makes You Just Like Family” (Story Break), 206
storytelling shows, xvii
“Storyworthy the Book” (YouTube channel), 62, 67, 101, 112, 143, 148, 174, 207
stream-of-consciousness writing, 64, 72
“Strip Club of My Own Making” (story; Dicks), 142–43, 241
stupidity, humor in, 247
success stories, 283–88
summaries, 230
Super Bowl, 129–31
surprise: author’s experiences, 223–27; emotional response achieved through, 237; humor based on, 248–53; stakes and accentuation of, 231–32; success stories and, 285; ways of ruining, 228–32
teaching, entertaining, 325–27
technical information, introducing, 192–94
TED Talks, 280, 289, 327
tense, shifts in, 272–76. See also past tense; present tense
theater, 34, 322
therefore. See but-and-therefore principle
third wheel, removing, 180
“Thirteen Rules for an Effective (and Perhaps Even Inspiring) Commencement Address” (Story Break), 135–38
“This Book Is Going to Make Erin Barker Very Angry” (Story Break), 113–14
“This Is Going to Suck” (story; Dicks), 207–11; about, 108–9, 207; author’s correspondence about, 215; beginning of, 132–33; as big story, 213; emotional response in, 227–28; finding story for, 85–86; five-second moment in, 109–10; humor in, 228, 242–43, 244–47; performances of, 86, 111, 207, 228; scenes in, 316; smaller relatable moments in, 215–17; surprise in, 227–29, 231, 232–33; tense shifts in, 274–75
Thorn, Jesse, xiv
time: compression of, 173–74; slowing down of, 54–55; storytelling as travel through, 291–96
Titanic (film; 1997), 133, 142, 285
Tough Shit (Smith), 323
Twain, Mark, 283
Uncle Frank (storyteller), 8–9
underdog stories, 285
United States Army, 73
vacation stories, 26, 27, 102, 202–3, 329
Vertigo (film; 1958), 133
Voices of Hope, 31
Voltaire, 324
Vonnegut, Kurt, 125
vulgarity, 302, 304–5
vulnerability, 3, 25–26, 28, 31, 329
Wade, Adam, 113
Warren, Tim, 287–88
weather, conversations about, 309
“Weather Sucks. So Don’t Talk about It.” (Story Break), 309
Westbrook, Brian, 129
Westheimer, Dr. Ruth, 289
Wilbur Theatre (Boston, MA), 140–41
Willis, Bruce, 285
word choices: accents, 308; celebrity/pop culture references, 306–8; names, 305–6; profanity, 302, 303–4; vulgarity, 302, 304–5
writing teachers, 65
Yawgoog Scout Reservation, 70
YouTube, “Storyworthy the Book” channel, 62, 67, 101, 112, 143, 148, 174, 207
Zimmer, Steve, 252, 313–14
“Zombie Brother” (Story Break), 160–61
About the Author
Matthew Dicks is the internationally bestselling author of the novels Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, Something Missing, The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs, and Unexpectedly, Milo. His novels have been translated into more than twenty-five langua
ges.
He is also the author of the rock opera The Clowns and the musicals Caught in the Middle, Sticks & Stones, and Summertime. He is a columnist for Seasons magazine and has published work in Reader’s Digest, the Hartford Courant, Parents magazine, the Huffington Post, and the Christian Science Monitor.
When not hunched over a computer screen, Matthew fills his days as an elementary-school teacher, a storyteller, a speaking coach, a blogger, a wedding DJ, a minister, a life coach, and a Lord of Sealand. He is a former West Hartford Teacher of the Year and a finalist for Connecticut Teacher of the Year.
Matthew is a thirty-six-time Moth StorySLAM champion and five-time GrandSLAM champion whose stories have been featured on the nationally syndicated Moth Radio Hour and its weekly podcast. He has also told stories for This American Life, TED, The Colin McEnroe Show, The Story Collider, The Liar Show, Literary Death Match, The Mouth, and many others.
Matthew is also the cofounder and creative director of Speak Up, a Hartford-based storytelling organization that produces shows throughout New England. He teaches storytelling and public speaking to individuals, corporations, and school districts around the world.
Matthew is the creator and cohost of Boy vs. Girl, a podcast about gender and gender stereotypes.
Matthew is married to his friend and fellow teacher Elysha, and they have two children, Clara and Charlie. He grew up in the small town of Blackstone, Massachusetts, where he made a name for himself by dying twice before the age of eighteen and becoming the first student in his high school to be suspended for inciting riot upon himself.
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