I have found storytelling to be a wonderful way to get away from the computer and come face to face with charmed and charming children, so eager to hear the stories I offer. I may feel like the lowest of the low when rejection slips crowd my mailbox, but in front of the kids I am King. Besides the psychic boost, telling traditional folktales has helped develop my picture book writing. This is largely because of what those tales leave out. Setting is seldom more than mentioned, while characterization is limited to broad strokes.
Internal musings are nearly forbidden.
Flashbacks don't happen. Abstractions are taboo. This, of course, is the aim of the picture book writer. And I can't help but get a feel for it when I learn and tell folktales. Storytelling helps my writing even more directly by letting me test my own stories in performance.