Something to talk about

DSC_2604“….but I don’t have anything to talk about”

I sometimes hear this from would-be storytellers when I mention an upcoming storytelling workshop, such as Spotlight on You, which I am going to be teaching on August 8.  “Oh Anna, I really want to come, but I just don’t have anything to talk about – interesting things just don’t happen to me”

Having done storytelling for a good number of years now, I can recognize that familiar voice as the voice of the inner critic – familiar not just to me but to anyone who undertakes any sort of creative endeavor (undergoes change or takes any kind of risk).  And of course that voice is wrong for oh so many reasons, as I will now consider, but in my experience, it never really helps to argue with the inner critic, but instead to reassure it, so I give you:

“You know how to do this!”

Perhaps it helps to take a step back here to think about what storytelling is and why it matters before proceeding.  I see storytelling as one of the most important tools available to us for learning about who we are and how we think about human beings.

Until you externalize it, you probably don’t even recognize the processes of meaning-making that go on with even your most mundane everyday moments:

  • the details that you (and only you) would notice
  • the ways that you connect events and experiences with other things that have happened
  • the ideas that run through your mind about what might happen next
  • …. what it all means and why: what this says about you

So that means that storytelling is not really about telling epically fantastical stories, storytelling is really about doing the hard work to recognize, capture, and convey your perspective.  So if you were going to argue with the inner critic, you could say “there is always going to be something to talk about because I am always going to have a unique take on things, a unique way of expressing this take”

….and “I know how to do this!”

I was reminded of this fact recently when the challenge of producing a story in a day presented itself to me. Now for those of you who are career procrastinators, I am not saying that the takeaway message here is that you SHOULD try to write a story in a day.  Instead what I am saying is that experiencing the entire story process condensed in this way was a powerful reminder for me of the “I know how to do this” because there simply wasn’t time to indulge the “I have nothing to talk about,” or it’s cousin: “is this idea really going to be enough for a story?”

This was the schedule that I gave myself

10-noon:        find a story    (let’s call this phase A)
noon – 2:        draft it            (phase B)
2-4:                 practice it       (phase C)
4-6:                 memorize it    (phase D)
7pm:               perform it      (phase E

Phase A was of course marked by the usual sturm and drang, but it had a time limit because I knew that Phase B would take me 2 hours.

So, I pulled out all of my brainstorm-y story finding tools:

  • My Rory’s story cubes
  • The word document where I list all of my story ideas  (which somehow never ends up being the source but somehow it gives me comfort to see it)

I quickly called up some of my friends who have been through this with me before: “can you remember what we were talking about last week when I said ‘oh, that would make a good story?’”

And then I finally sat down to just do some free-writing on a theme (spoiler alert: this is where the idea almost ALWAYS comes from).  I started with the theme of the show, and free-associated from there – anything and everything that it made me think of: funny, serious, images, objects, memories: and that was where I found one: a memory that fit and which I found that I had at least one paragraph about, which told me that I could do more.

Phase C is where the fun really begins because it is now all about remembering details, connecting them with other ideas, sketching out a scene, finding the very best words, tinkering with structure, realizing what ideas can stay and which are not needed for this story.  In short, they are play!

Phase D might not be the most fun, but I assure you that having a bit more time than two hours helps, and it also really helps to have a gentle audience.  And if I can guarantee you one thing about a BSTD workshop, it is that you will find a great group of folks to learn with!

…and WE WILL HELP YOU DO THIS!!!

If you are looking for an opportunity to be creative, playful, social, come join us on August 8th for Spotlight on You.
Spotlight on You: Telling the story of your life
$75
A half-day workshop where you will learn structure, character building, and how to win the audience over, through our teacher’s method of storytelling coaching. For storytellers of all levels. Students should come with an idea for a story and will leave with a story ready to tell.
To register for upcoming workshops Click Here

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