TED talks on storytelling:
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story (20 min)
I have listened to this short talk half a dozen times and I never get tired of it. Adichie drives home the importance and responsibility of the storyteller and the necessity of telling our own unique truths and of listening deeply to others.
Randy Olson: The And / But / Therefore Template of Storytelling (10 min)
The shortest lecture on the structure of narrative I have heard so far. A great condensed piece of advice to launch your first stories in the right direction.
Full Lectures on Writing:
Few of us have the time or money to go to a week-long writers' conference. Fortunately, a lot of writers' workshops have generously made "Craft Talks" on writing available through youtube. You may find yourself amazed by how much you can learn about storytelling while unloading your dishwasher or mopping the kitchen floor.
Videos of about four to six craft talks per year since 2002. Talks vary in length from 20 to 60 minutes.
Here is a selection of talks I found most helpful:
Justin Cronin (2007): Structure of narration
A truly excellent and engaging lecture on what makes a story. And if you like this, there's more Justin Cronin from the 2013 Bluegrass Writer's Workshop, where he lectures on Meaning in Fiction. Meaning, according to Cronin, is "The psychological impression that the world we are reading is as full as the world that we live in."
Hannah Tinti (2007): Repetition and Magic in Storytelling
Turns out that successful jokes, The Cat in the Hat, and Raymond Carver's Cathedral all function because of the same underlying narrative structure. If you're up for learning from (and listening to!) a lovely reading of Dr. Seuss, pick this lecture for a crash course on building magic moments.
Justin Cronin (2004): Narration and Point of View
Choosing the point of view is the first and most important decision in story telling - failing at consistency or choosing unwisely will make any piece of writing fail from the start. Another great place to learn about point of view is a chapter in Le Guin's Steering the Craft, but if you prefer having someone tell you about it, then this is the lecture for you.
Jennifer Vanderbes (2012): Setting the scene
Jennifer Vanderbes (2011): Transitions
Jennifer Brice (2009): Sentimentality
Carrie Brown: The difficult art of happiness
Paul Cody (2013): Opening lines
Brian Hall (2013): Metaphors that suck and a few that don't
Dana Spiotta (2012): Structure in the novel
J. Robert Lennon (2010): In praise of blanks