Advertising. Tell your story in the form of advertising or an infomercial for some product or some service that is part of the story's plot.
First-Person. Tell your story in first-person using one of the main characters from the story as your storyteller.
Diary Style. Tell the story in the form of a series of diary entries, with each major event in its own diary entry.
Letter-Writing. You could re-tell the story in the form of a series of letters, either all from the same person or in a back-and-forth exchange.
Interview Style. People can be interviewed by a news show, or you could adapt a television interview format, such as Oprah or Jerry Springer.
Newspaper Style. Newspaper style lets you include the words and opinions of many different characters!
Gossip and Celebrity News. If you use a gossip style, make sure to use teasers and "hint-hint" language to heighten the sense of intrigue and scandal.
Elders and Other Wise Storytellers. Is there a message of wisdom in the story you want to tell? Then use an elder storyteller or some other wise person to emphasize that message of wisdom.
Inanimate Objects as Storytellers. Is there some inanimate object in the story that had the opportunity to witness all the important events? Use that object as your storyteller!
Death as the Storyteller. Does someone in your story die, or come close to death? Then you might want to use Death as the storyteller.
Love as the Storyteller. Is your story a love story? Then use a god or goddess of love - Venus, Cupid, Kama, etc. - as your storyteller.
Stories of my Ancestors. Does your story take place in the distant past? Imagine a modern-day descendant of one of the characters in the story (human or animal!) and let that descendant tell the story about their own ancestor.
Sequel: What Happened Later...? Try writing a sequel to the story - but make sure you include enough information about the original story so that people can see how your sequel is a natural result of the events of the actual story.
The Other Side: Villains as Storytellers. Is there a villain or bad guy in your story? See what happens if you let that person be the storyteller!
Multiple Storytellers, Multiple Perspectives. You can choose to use two different storytellers - they could each tell the whole story from their individual point of view, or they could trade off, each telling part of the story.
Minor Characters. Is there an intriguing minor character in your story? Let that minor character be your storyteller!
Friends and FOAFs. Everybody has friends, and they have friends who have friends. Make that friend, or the friend-of-a-friend (FOAF) into the storyteller.
The Long-Lost Manuscript. Every ancient story tells only PART of the story... imagine that some long-lost manuscript or other evidence (a stone inscription?) has come to light that tells us even more of the story.
Space Aliens. Imagine some space alien who is telling your story to an audience of space aliens: what do the aliens learn about us from the story?
Bedtime Stories. Does the story you want to retell have the potential to be a good bedtime story? Set the scene and find out!
Around the Campfire. Is your story the kind of story people might share around a campfire? Set the scene and find out!
Parties and Feasting. Is your story the kind of story people might share at a party or celebration? Set the scene and find out!
Storytelling in the Schoolroom. Does your story have some kind of educational value that would make sense in a classroom? Give it a try and see what happens!
Stories on the OU Campus. Use the power of your imagination to re-tell your story on the OU campus - and include lots of OU details to bring that setting to life!
Festivals and Holidays. Is your story the kind of story people might share at a special holiday or festival? Set the scene and find out!
Spas and Beauty Parlors. Is your story a story that women might tell for themselves? Then you might set it in a beauty parlor or some other setting you can imagine where the audience is all women.
Bars and Bartenders. Can you imagine a bartender telling your story to the patrons of the bar? Set up the drinks and see what happens!
Amusement Park Rides. Could the story provide the basis for some kind of amusement park ride? Give it a try and see what happens!
Deathbeds and Other Final Thoughts. Imagine one of the characters in the future, on their deathbed or watching their life "flash before their eyes." How does the story turn out when told that way?
Radio Call-In Show. Does your story lend itself to a radio call-in show? Remember, you could have one character phoning in... followed by another character who hears the first call and wants to give their side of the story.
Tours and Tour Guides. Is there a distinction physical location that is a crucial part of your story? Then let a tour guide tell the story to the sightseeing tourists.
Mysteries and Crimes. Does your story involve a crime of any kind? Invent an investigator and start following the clues to catch the criminal!
Court Case: Stories Put on Trial. Is there a crime or some kind of injustice in your story? Then figure out a way to put the characters on trial!
The Afterlife. Do any of your characters die in the story? If so, visit the afterlife that is appropriate to the character's culture and let your dead character tell the story there.
Modernization. Is there a way you can adapt your story to a modern setting... but still keep the magic and charm of the old plot? Give it a try and see what happens.
Time Travel. Does your story take place in the past? TheniImagine a time traveler (it can be you, in fact!) and send that character back in time to participate in the story, either actively or just as an observer.
Futuristic. Are you a fan of futuristic fiction? Then don't just modernize your story - send it into the distant future!
Wisdom and Inspiration. Is your story inspirational? Then find a setting - a counselor's office, a motivational seminar, a church sermon - that will let you retell the story with a strong emphasis on its inspiration message.
Therapy Session. Is there some character in your story who is traumatized by what happened? Then that character may need to share the story with their therapist!
Story Combos: Mix and Match. Can you combine the characters from two stories into a single story? Go for it! Especially if your characters live in some "timeless" space, it's easy for characters from one story to wander into another story.
Poetry AND Prose. Use song lyrics (especially ballads), rap lyrics, a series of haiku, any kind of poetry will work - or a combination of prose AND poetry.
Tweets. Include some Twitter dialogue in your story. You can use this Fake Tweet Builder for the formatting.
Emails. Tell your story as an exchange of email. Make sure you include the usual features of an email: From, To, Subject, etc.
Resume. Create a resume which manages to tell a story. You can find lots of resume samples online to give you an idea of what kinds of materials you can include in a resume.
Dear Abby. You can tell your story in the form of a letter to an advice columnist like Dear Abby - and make sure to include her reply, too.
Prequel: How Did We Get Here? Try writing a prequel to the story - but make sure you include enough information about the original story so that people can see how your prequel naturally leads to the events of the actual story.
