Storyworthy

A five-time Moth GrandSLAM winner and bestselling novelist shows how to tell a great story - and why doing so matters. Whether we realize it or not, we are always telling stories. On a first date or job interview, at a sales presentation or therapy appointment, with family or friends, we are constantly narrating events and interpreting emotions and actions. In this compelling book, storyteller extraordinaire Matthew Dicks presents wonderfully straightforward and engaging tips and techniques for constructing, telling, and polishing stories that will hold the attention of your audience (no matter how big or small). He shows that anyone can learn to be an appealing storyteller, that everyone has something "storyworthy" to express, and, perhaps most important, that the act of creating and telling a tale is a powerful way of understanding and enhancing your own life.

Matthew Dicks is a bestselling novelist, thirty-six-time Moth StorySLAM champion, and five-time GrandSLAM champion. In addition to his widespread teaching, writing, and performing, he cofounded (with his wife) Speak Up, which produces sold-out storytelling performances throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York at least once a month. He lives in Newington, Connecticut.

PART ONE: FINDING YOUR STORY
Chapter 1: A Coward Tells a Story
Chapter 2: What Is a Story? (and What Is the Dinner Test?)
Chapter 3: Homework for Life
Chapter 4: Dreaming at the End of Your Pen
Chapter 5: First/Last/Best/Worst: Great for Long Car Rides, First Dates, and Finding Stories
PART TWO: CRAFTING YOUR STORY
Chapter 6: "Charity Thief"
Chapter 7: Every Story Only Takes Five Seconds to Tell (and Jurassic Park Wasn't a Movie About Dinosaurs)
Chapter 8: Finding Your Beginning (I'm Also About to Ruin Most Movies and Many Books Forever for You)
Chapter 9: Stakes - Five Ways to Keep Your Story Compelling (and Why There Are Dinosaurs in Jurassic Park)
Chapter 10: The Five Permissible Lies of True Storytelling
Chapter 11: Cinema of the Mind (Also Known As "Where the Hell
Are You?")
Chapter 12: The Principle of But and Therefore
Chapter 13: "This Is Going to Suck"
Chapter 14: The Secret to the Big Story: Make it Little
Chapter 15: There Is Only Way to Make Someone Cry
Chapter 16: Milk Cans and Balls. Babies and Blenders: Simple, Effective Ways to be Funny in Storytelling (Even If You're Not Funny at All)
Chapter 17: Finding the Frayed Ending of Your Story (Or... What the Hell Did That Mean?)
PART 3: TELLING YOUR STORY
Chapter 18: The Present Tense is King (But the Queen Can Play a Role, Too)

Chapter 19: If You Practice Storytelling or Public Speaking in a Mirror, Read This. If You Don't, Skip It.
Chapter 20: The Two Ways of Telling a Hero Story (Or... How to Avoid Sounding Like a Douchebag)
Chapter 21:Storytelling Is Time Travel (If You Don't Muck It Up)
Chapter 22: Words to Say. Words to Avoid.
Chapter 23: Time to Perform (On the Stage, in the Board Room, on a Date, or at the Thanksgiving Table)
Chapter 24: Why Did You Read This Book? To Become a Superhero.