Article: The amount of wax that you’ll need for the candles depends on the size of the jars you’re using and how many candles you plan to make. For four 8-ounce (227 g) candles, you’ll need approximately 6 cups (1419 g) of wax flakes. You can use whatever type of wax you like for the candles, but soy wax tends to absorb fragrance better than beeswax or other waxes. Once you’ve measured out the necessary wax for the candles, place the flakes in a medium size pot on the stove. Turn the burner to medium-low, and allow the wax to melt completely, which should take 3 to 5 minutes.  Wax can ignite fairly easily, so watch the pot closely as the wax melts. Be sure to stir the wax with a wooden spoon or chop stick, while it’s heating to break up clumps and ensure that it melts evenly. If you find that it’s taking longer than 5 minutes or so for the wax to melt, turn the heat up to medium. After the wax has melted completely, remove the pan from the burner. The wax will be too hot to scent right away, so allow it to cool for 2 to 3 minutes. The wax will cool more quickly if you transfer it from the pan to a cool bowl or other container.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Measure out the wax flakes. Place the wax in a pot and melt on the stove. Allow it the wax to cool briefly.
Article: Often, the beginning of a professional storytelling career involves many free performances at public events.  By volunteering at a local library, community day care, cafe, charity, or other venue, an amateur storyteller can gain the experience needed to perfect their craft and transition into becoming a professional storyteller. As the old saying goes, “Practice makes perfect.” If you don’t have many events or storytelling venues near you, take the initiative and found your own.  Propose the idea to start a public storytelling hour to your local library or coffee shop.  Give your story event a theme.  For instance, you might open the event up for proposals pertaining to specific themes like romance, adventures on the sea, or troubles with technology.  Don’t make your theme too specific.  For instance, a theme like “my first date” might get a lot of similar stories and be boring for the audience. Set a time limit so you don’t get stories that are too long and rambling.  Ten minutes is usually a good limit for the average story. Alternately, you could just get your closest friends together in your living room on a Friday or Saturday night and swap stories in a semi-structured way.  You could select a specific theme, or you could just provide an open forum for sharing stories. StoryCorps is a podcast which attempts “to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world.”  For the hefty sum of $3,500 per day, you can host a StoryCorps event in your community.  (You might consider soliciting public funding or private fundraising to help with the fee.)  Interviews can last forty minutes and are added to the Library of Congress archives.  They are also available online. A podcast is a streaming or downloadable audio interview.  Podcasts are a great format for telling your own story or those of others.  With some editing, you can incorporate music into your podcast too.  Your podcast can be narrow (stories in the history of astronomy) or broad (stories from around the world) in focus.  Podcasts can be hard to produce.  Get help from a trained sound engineer to record and produce your podcast. As you build your audience, seek local businesses for financial support.  Offer them advertising space on your podcast.  While you can easily do a simple podcast on your home computer with your built-in microphone and recording software, a good podcast will need to invest in high-quality technology.  If conducting interviews over Skype, Pamela is a great program for PC users.  A similar program, Ecamm Call Recorder, is available for Mac users.  Adobe Audition is a useful program for editing purposes. Storyteller groups host festivals all over the country.  Whether you attend festivals or conferences as a participant or as a member of the audience, take advantage of the opportunity to hear other storytellers to hone your own craft and inspire you to find new stories of your own.  Conferences are great opportunities to perform or engage in professional development.  The largest festival -- the National Storytelling Festival -- takes place each year in Tennessee.  Check the National Storytelling Network’s calendar at https://storynet.org/calendar/ to search for storytelling events in your area. Read both fiction and nonfiction in a conscious way, thinking about what made a given story memorable.  Memoirs are especially useful for helping you think about how to frame your personal experience and regurgitate it as a great story.  Read storytelling guides to improve your delivery, learn how to pace your story, and understand what makes a story great.  While you might intuitively understand some or all of these storytelling elements already, explicitly recognizing how these elements work in conversation with each other will hone your storytelling skills You probably have lots of questions and issues about becoming a professional storyteller that someone else has already dealt with.  Learn from their experiences, avoid their pitfalls, and adopt their paths to success. Don’t get feedback from any random audience member. Get feedback from people who are professional orators, actors, writers, and storytellers.  Ask them what worked and what didn’t.  Make improvements if their criticisms are well-founded and continuously review your own storytelling style and material to become the best storyteller you can be. Beyond some simple feedback and nurturing, consider getting real coaching from another storyteller.  A storyteller coach will tailor their advice to your specific needs and presentation and give concrete steps to help you build your business.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Volunteer your storytelling ability whenever you can. Start a storytelling club or event. Start your own podcast. Attend storytelling clubs and festivals. Read a lot. Solicit feedback.
Article: Curls tend to puff up when they're over-handled. Now that your hair is dry, just let it be for the rest of the day. Tuck your hair up under a hat or pin it into a loose bun to protect your curls.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Try not to handle your hair too much during the day.