Storytelling Essay

Theory of Writing Assignment Forums Discussions Storytelling Essay

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  • #475
    Sam
    Keymaster

    Please post your thought’s on Catherine Ramsdell‘s essay here.

     

    #478
    Anthony Liang
    Participant

    <span style=”font-weight: 400;”>I found this piece very interesting as Catherine Ramsdell pushes for an argument on why stories are important to have in our lives and we are exposed to stories in our daily lives secretly. I found the second part interesting as she’s putting it that anything that communicates something to us—the audience can be considered to be a story. Stories therefore serve many purposes in our lives in the form of the learning aspect as story books towards young children to entertainment in the form of movies or video games. The importance of “Who I Am” stories and how the contents of it can lead to a host of different outcomes which would either show doubt in you or trust. If it’s too general, people won’t take you seriously unless you add detail to your story to back up the point you’re trying to make. It’s important to leave out anything that doesn’t matter in the story as you don’t want it too long or your audience will become less interested. The steps on making a “Who I Am” story I feel is a good outline of the process and will really help those trying to write a “Who I Am” story. I found the story that saved Apple from bankruptcy fascinating as if their story for the Macintosh wasn’t great or wasn’t delivered correctly, they wouldn’t exist anymore showing the importance of stories in our lives.</span>

    #479
    Ange Louis
    Participant

    This passage was about how important storytelling is in everyday life. You may not know, but it’s used in video games, advertisements, movies, books, television shows. One aspect is because everyone loves a good story which is why it spreads like wildfire at times. A story can help in the process of getting something you want. For example, the Skip story where all he had to do was tell a story to convince the stockbrokers that he was a trustworthy leader who will listen to everyone instead of an arrogant person. Through his story of the $6/hour wage worker caching his mistake we see know he knows the error of his ways. I think the Who I Am story is so important and it’s something that I could have thought about during the college process. I also thought the real time vs. narrative time was so interesting because the addition of a few details can completely change the mood of the story. There was also the argument of direct vs. indirect characterization. In our stories, we should use more indirect characterization so the audience can get an idea of who you are without you blatantly stating it. I also like the advice that was given for writing a narrative story. My favorite one was about ask others what they think of you to get an idea of what to write about yourself because we all think of ourselves in a certain way and see ourselves in a specific light but the impact we have on the world is based on how we treat others. Storytelling is used in our everyday lives and it’s important to know that so we can use it to our advantage like Steve Jobs did in his marketing campaign.

    #482
    Mohammad Rahman
    Participant

    I found Catherine Ramsdell’s Storytelling, Narration, and the “Who I Am” Story to be quite fascinating, in which she stresses the importance of story telling. Ever since I was young, reading story had always been a part of my life. Whether it be, as Catherine put it, “a book to curl up with on a cold rainy afternoon, a movie to share with a best friend, a video game to conquer,” it gave me a form of entertainment I didn’t want to lose. Also as I was reading the “Who I am” section, I came across the phrase “the story shows and does not tell” which was something my teacher would always bring up when it came to writing assignments. I completely agree with this statement, in which the reader must get a visual of what the writer is trying to say. It shouldn’t be something that’s plain and boring. I believe this is something many writers, including myself, struggle with when it comes to writing. No matter what, people will always love a good story that makes them feel interested, not bored. All in all, I do agree with Catherine when see says storytelling a crucial part of our lives, in which it helps us put ourselves in someone else’s shoes, or even help us learn good morals and life lessons.

    #483
    Helen
    Participant

    It’s really interesting, being born into a new age of information and how it has changed the world. The story of “Who I Am” and practicing the elevator pitch to introduce yourself to others had never been more important than present times. It’s easy to introduce yourself, but to be able to provide an excellent narrative along with it to make it a story, that’s a skill that needs to be practiced and learned and then kept. Stories are a great way to attach life and relatability to something that may seem unfamiliar to others. To be able to tell a great story is an important skill. It can be used to teach, inform, and warn others based on the story that’s being told. Everyone can know the story, but how it’s told can make the big difference. The development, the suspense, and the method of conveying will separate good storytellers and ones who just relay the stories.

    #484
    Mohammed Mia
    Participant

    After reading her article, I’ve come to the realization on how frequent and how significant story telling is in our daily lives. Within every conversation, there is a new story and brings about new connections made by others nearby you. Bringing about critical points in a story connects to the story teller and their peers. Since i was little, stories have heavily influenced my experiences with certain types of people and places in this world. By using my parents/families’ experiences, I was able to make solid decisions and prevent the rookie mistakes they’ve made by listening and understanding their stories as to why something is perceived as good or bad.

    #485
    Xiaoqin Jiang
    Participant

    <span style=”font-weight: 400;”>I think the article “Storytelling, Narration, and the “Who I Am” Story” by Catherine Ramsdell is to tell us how to develop your story. When you start to write a story, you should think about how to reveal a person’s personality because it determines how the character appears to the reader in the story. There are two ways, they are direct and indirect characterization. Furthermore, you need to consider the time, place, the characters of the story and tell a conflict as well as this solution. A meaningful story is whether it conveys some kind of information to the reader. For example, positive, inspired and so on. In addition, you need to create a dominant impression because it can give your audience an emotion of the story. Anyway, I think this article is useful because it gives us a lot of ideas and effective suggestions to write a story.</span>

     

    #486
    Crystal Yang
    Participant

    I agree with this article and how Catherine Ramsdell says a story can be seen and told through many different forms or genres. Whether it’d be through a movie, phone call, or video game, we can say that stories are for the purpose of entertainment, but the most important part is how you tell the story. Yes, any story can have a plot and characters, but the way you tell a story is how you will catch the reader’s attention and have your story become appealing. I also liked her description of a “Who I Am” story of how it gives clarity to what type of writer and person that the author is. It’s a good way to display how a good story should be written as well as having it display the characteristics of the author themselves.

    #487
    Syed Shataj Hosain
    Participant

    We are constantly surrounded by stories. We cannot be a functioning society without them. Catherine Ramsdell’s Storytelling, Narration, and the “Who I Am” Story is very exciting. Catherine Ramdell explains how storytelling is used in the professional world. I have never really thought about how most commercials are telling us a story in a short period of time for their profit. For me storytelling is a art that we can express our thoughts with it. People always love a good storyteller which is interesting, exciting and full of suspence. A good story hold the attention of the audience. Even Apple use storytelling in their markeing campaign, so that people get excited what is new about the company.

    #488
    salwa rahman
    Participant

    I believe that this essay did a great job at emphasizing the importance of story telling. Story telling is used in all aspects of life, whether it’d be personal or professional. Catherine Ramsdell used references to Aristotle and other well known figures (eg; Roland Barthes) to further prove her point that story telling is crucial. Another part of this essay which I felt was interesting was the discussion of the difference between fabula (story) and sjuzhet (narrative). I felt that this was interesting because there have been many arguments on the meaning of the words. To me, I agreed with the notion that a story is a series of events that  the work recounts. I also agreed with the fact that narratives are an account of events not put in order; they are reshaped to affect the audience. The shift in focus between the two types of storytelling was something I was not aware of, and I felt that this was interesting to learn about.  Towards the end of this essay, Ramsdell provided instructions on how to create a “Who I Am” essay with useful tips such as “take a break and come back to see if you missed anything”. This essay expanded my knowledge in the world of story telling, and I now know why it is important in all aspects of our lives.

    #489
    Arijit Saha
    Participant

    <span style=”font-weight: 400;”>“Storytelling, Narration, and the “Who I Am” by Catherine Ramdell is a very interesting writing. In the passage she argued why we should give importance of story telling. Storytelling is really important whether we are selling some products, movies, video games or even we are trying to express our feelings. Everything has a story behind it and if we don’t say it properly. Our audience might not get what are we trying to express. Storytelling is a great way to teach, inform or show an attitude to others. I really like when Catherine said, his to narrate our stories.</span>

    #490
    REAYANUL HAQUE
    Participant

    Our everyday life storytelling is important and this passage was about how important it is. After reading her article, I’ve realized how significant storytelling in our daily lives. When I was young, my mom used to tell me bedtime stories and reading story is always been my favorite thing to do. Since I was little stories influenced me to do things, I thought I wasn’t able to do it? Everyone has their own story behind everything and to be able to tell people the story is an important skill. My parents told me their story about how hard it was for them to grow up and their story inspired me. Because of them now I can make the right decision in my life. So, storytelling is important in our daily lives.

    #491
    Amy Ho
    Participant

    This piece is extremely elaborative on the differences between a narrative and story. It’s interesting how the minor meaning between these two terms can make a piece of writing become more successful. I felt that this reading put a lot of emphasis on narrative rather than story. Catherine Ramsdell explained that a story only require characters and events. While a narrative consist of characters, events, and narrative discourse which is almost like a story but with more details.
    One example that Ramsdell used in the reading explains narrative time. I thought that it’s helpful to understand narrative time because by adding little details and being a little more descriptive about an event, it help with the transitions. Additional, to that it creates a better image of the event.
    The reading talked about a character dropping her mug of coffee as a story then showing a narrative which went in-depth with the character feeling coffee soaking her socks, there no more coffee in the pot, and how she wants a burst of caffeine. These little details makes the writing more interesting to reading and help the reader have a bigger picture of the situation. Rather than the character spilling her coffee.

    #492

    After reading the article, i thought about it for a while and it came to my mind that in every conversation, there is a hidden story been told. There can be a story not just in conversations but also in things such as a movie or a novel. We can even find stories in places we wouldn’t imagine such as in a place where we are leaning such as a learning book for schoolkids. For the “Who I Am” stories, there is no guidance as to how to write them but according to the article, there are some simplest steps that can and should be followed.

    #493
    Escarlen Ibadango
    Participant

    Storytelling has become a big part of society now. Catherine Ramsdell defines what storytelling is about and the effects that it has brought when we are moving forward. It has transitioned from just what we used to know of characters and actions to describe through details. As Ramsdell begins explaining the different definition she relates back to how it’s more than just describing what happened but focus on what led onto it. She gives the example of the “Who I am” story where they create an image of the different types of descriptions that there could be by detailing the experiences that create a whole picture on your head. A story becomes a narrative of what happened in order to let the audience create a picture and understand what is happening and create conclusions. We all get different conclusions of what the story was trying to describe. In the same way, Ramsdell’s example of the new computer by apple shows how society focus on presenting their perspective to capture a larger audience and create connections with them. In which I could relate to when I am part of a community that we have a nonprofit organization that has to send reports to funders about the impact we have created by telling the story of positive changes people have began to experience with the resources we have. Storytelling is a big component now to help describe through details what we experience and help people create an image of it.

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