[Dalya’s Note: This guest post was written by Craig Harrison who will be a Special Guest on the 4/2 Writing Wednesdays call. He is the Principal of Expressions of Excellence.]
Don’t look now, but did you realize we’re surrounded by stories? They’re everywhere. Last week I was traveling and everywhere I turned I heard stories: on the shuttle to the airport, while going through the security lines, at the gate, on the airplane, and while waiting for our baggage. Everyone was telling stories… to each other, to the flight attendants, and the attendants were no doubt telling stories to each other about us!
What’s most exciting are the new stories we fashion from our experiences, observations, and imagination.
As the Principal of Expressions of Excellence!™ I speak, train, write, coach, and facilitate. As such, I use stories a great deal, whether to educate or illustrate, to entertain, inspire, or even to sell. My specialty is the telling of personal stories. I’m often asked about my stories: How did you fashion that story? Where did it come from? How did you develop it? (And on occasion I am asked if my stories are really true. Yes, they are, to me!)
Please realize that stories — mine and yours — can start as snippets of overheard conversation, a random thought, a chance encounter, an observation, or a funny juxtaposition of people, places, or things. Inspiration comes from many directions. You just have to attune yourself to it and attenuate your antennae. Are you looking with a keen eye? Listening with a keen ear? Or a quirky mind? Being slightly askew helps!
Try this experiment. After reading this blog post, make sure you take a small notepad and pen or recording device with you as you go about your day. Look and listen for interesting bits of conversation. Or pairs of interesting observations which are either linked or perhaps in contrast or opposition to each other. Now, record the dialog or your thoughts about it.
Now, at the end of the day, look at your findings. What snippets did you record? Did you observe any interesting, compelling, or oddball people? Might you extrapolate from your observations of them what they are like? What their kids are like or what they do in their spare time? Write their back story! What are you observing that’s unusual, peculiar, ironic, or absurd? Is it about us? Is it about technology? Architecture? Animals? Sound? Each is a snippet that can be fashioned into an essay, a story or a fun list.
Did you record any humorous, contemplative, or evocative dialog you can riff upon?
Are there any two or three items in your list that are thematically linked? Can you build a story, essay, or article from said items?
Living in Berkeley, California, I hear all sorts of fascinating fodder for stories. In the cafés, in line at the post office, and even the bumper stickers on old VW bugs and buses can be catalysts for stories. Recently I saw a bumper sticker that said “I can’t believe I’m still protesting this crap!” That immediately took me down memory lane about all the causes I’ve witnessed since the Free Speech Movement in the mid-60’s in Berkeley.
Join me on April 2nd when I’ll teach you some processes for turning snippets into stories. Until then, start snipping!
