5 books in 4 weeks. Stephen King got me. Avidly reading and taking notes from his stories and novels to catch the secrets of storytelling that make me unable to put the books down.
Here what I gained.

1. Use great great great hooks:
Build up tension at the very beginning.
Stephen King often has an ordinary person experience something extraordinary (or even disturbing, irrational, violent or dramatic). He challenges the audience by making an assumption that triggers their sense of righteousness, or by using an absurd phrase that promises something hilarious.
“This isn’t funny at all”
“Lazy butt?”

2. Raise expectations:
Very soon, announce a meaningful and important event in your story (it will grasp attention even more if it is tragic) which is going to change everything and will be explained over the course of the next few pages.

3. Have a Hero, will travel
Have a character who does things, experience things, feels things, show things.
Or better said: have a character to tell what happens to him (if...)
It could be Joe, the baker guy, Grandpa Carl, you name it.
You can use objects too, like cars, an envelope, even a building (your bank for example).

Storytelling about the most dry / technical / boring topic works, when it is about a hero and his/her life, describing what they experience and using the biographies to make audience understand things.
A character will trigger emotions and empathy too, making your story sticks to audience's mind.
Remember that terrific ad by Spike Jonze for IKEA?
Watch it here (on Youtube)

4. Use what you know
Citing specific things, locations and experiences that one has seen or experienced will provide the audience with concrete examples to which they can relate. Suddenly, they will be able to taste, see and smell it.
Talking about one's experiences enables precise storytelling.
They can sound as if they were invented just for the story, when in fact they are just pieces of the author's life.
Be aware of the cultural gap, and don't be afraid to use the same 'bits of reality' in different stories (Stephen King does this a lot!).


5. Relax and notice
Ideas cannot be fabricated on demand; they come by themselves.
As Stephen King explains in 'On Writing':

"... good stories ideas seem to come quite literally from nowhere, sailing at you right out of the empty sky... Your job isn´t to find these ideas but to recognize them when they show up."

To recognise them, you need to be clear about what you want to tell a story about. For example, let's say it's bravery. Start looking around you for experiences or feelings that reflect this.
Watch how your cat gets hold of the neighbour's big dog, for example. Could you use that to make your point?
Immerse yourself in your chosen topic, focus your mind on it, let it sink in and keep it at the back of your mind while observing your surroundings and the people around you.
The trick is then to sit back, relax and be ready to catch that idea when it shows up.