On Storytelling:
…. I could a tale unfold whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul, freeze they young blood,
Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres,
Thy knotted and combined locks to part,
And each particular hair to stand an end,
Like quills upon the fretful porpentine.
       William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
      Hamlet, Act I, scene v

For actors
Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to
you, trippingly on the tongue: but if you mouth it,
as many of your players do, I had as lief the
town-crier spoke my lines. Nor do not saw the air
too much with your hand, thus, but use all gently;
for in the very torrent, tempest, and, as I may say,
the whirlwind of passion, you must acquire and beget a temperance that may give it smoothness.
       William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
       Hamlet, Act III, scene 2

Be not too tame neither, but let your own discretion
be your tutor: suit the action to the word, the
word to the action; with this special observance,
that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature
      William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
      Hamlet, Act III, scene 2

Verbs has to agree with their subjects.  
Prepositions are not words to end sentences with. 
And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. 
It is wrong to ever split an infinitive. 
Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat.) 
Also, always avoid annoying alliteration. 
Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies. 
Be more or less specific. 
Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary 
No sentence fragments. 
Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used. 
Foreign words and phrases are not à propos. 
Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous. 
One should never generalize. 
Comparisons are as bad as clichés. 
Don't use no double negatives. 
Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc. 
One word sentences? Eliminate. 
Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake. 
The passive voice is to be avoided. 
Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas. 
Never use a big word when a diminutive one will suffice. 
Kill all exclamation points!!! 
Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them 
Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earthshaking ideas. 
Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed. 
Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know." 
If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it effectively. 
Puns are for children, not from groan readers. 
Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms. 
Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed. 
Who needs rhetorical questions? 
Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
And finally...
Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.