Story
Week 3-Story
Wow!!!!! I am really looking forward to this week!!
This Week is all about Story!!!!
one of my favourite things in the whole wide world
Can you remember a time in your life that felt incredibly powerful.
can you remember the taste in your mouth? The smell of the room? The feeling in your body?
This week we explore why story can be intrigal to any writing process.
Stories help us understand others
Stories encourage Empathy
Stories come in all forms and mediums
Stories help us cope, remember and imagine
They are part of our history and part of our survival
Story video
Story Script
Story exercises
EXercises
Learning to be a witness to our story
Lets walk through this together
Here is your prompt
Some stories might be triggering for others so keep us posted at the beginning of your story if we need to be mindful of our own mental and physical health.
BRAINSTOrm… try to LIST five THINGs
For Example……….
when I was stranded on the highway with a flat tire…….
when I was a kid and got lost in the forrest……
I can remember when I was Scared after my partner left……
I can remember the time I had to sing at my friends funeral……
when I was a kid we used to play hide and seek in the dark…..
Feel free to go wide and deep with this
Take yourself back to a time or a story in your life that is memorable enough to detail it out.
Let it dive into deep emotions if it feels good.
Go wide
Let your story heal a bit of your heart
2. Now we are going to narrow it down
Take your list and narrow it down to ONE OR TWO story ideas
Take those two and write about each one separately
Focus on detail
Focus on order of events
How it made you feel
What did you smell, taste, touch, feel, sense?
Could you remember colour or temperature?
Get as detailed as you want to
3. Pick one for the week and tell your story
For every story there is a beginning middle and end
find a form that works for you
You can write a letter to your younger self
Write it in a story form from your perspective
Write it from your inner child
Write it from the perspective of an on looker
Write a song or poem
4. Share if you like
If it feels good, share it on the Facebook page
You can record a short description at the beginning to let the listeners know what it is about….
or
You can simply share….with no description
You can make a video of yourself reading it
You can do it from memory
Or you can share your writing
Only share if it feels absolutely right in your heart.
If you want to honour it in another way…..you can burn it!!
Let the fire ingest your story
Take a video of you throwing your story into the flames if it feels good
This exercise is a deep one so we will all work extra hard for each other to hold space, empathy and compassion
Again…..
Some stories might be triggering for others so keep us posted at the beginning of your story if we need to be mindful of our own mental and physical health.
5. Keep it simple
It is such a good idea to remember to keep it simple. Sometimes stories have a way of getting too complicated.
Start slow
Let your story unfold as it wants to
Once you feel like you got it to a spot that feels good you can refine it
Here is an example of a story I wrote for one of my writing courses
On This Harvest Moon
Arley, would you help me surprise my mom with a little concert for her birthday.”
“You and I can sing and play together”
“She’s going to love it”
Jen asked me this question one month before her moms birthday.
Jen is my best good friend
and guitar student.
The answer was of course yes.
Jen and I practiced for the whole month diligently going over her mom’s most loved songs.
Practicing our harmonies
Singing our hearts out
Playing our guitars
Focusing on Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon”
Because that was her favourite.
Jen’s mom loved when we played and sang together.
Jen’s mom was our number one fan.
The day came
Her mom came in the house from a birthday coffee date with her friends.
Jen and I were situated on the couches in the living room.
We started playing
Her mom instantly fell into tears of joy.
We played and sang
Looking at each other for cues
Laughing
It was beautiful
(What I didn’t expect was the gift I was about to witness.)
Jen and I started into “Harvest Moon”
Her mom jumped up off of her chair and ran into the kitchen where her dad was making coffee by the sink
She leaned into his back
As any lover might do
With her head upon his shoulder
Wrapping her arms around his body
Her mouth close to his ear
And asked him to dance
Smiling big and wide
He grabbed her up in his arms
In the most emphatic of ways
I was facing the kitchen witnessing the incandescent love
That was slowly rocking back and forth in rhythm to our singing.
It took everything in my power not to start choking on my own emotions while trying to sing.
It’s really hard to sing when you are crying
Her face buried in his neck
Her arms around his shoulders
His arms
Strong, aged, clasped around her waist
A Kleenex gripped firmly In her right hand used sporadically to wipe the runaway tears that fell out of her eyes.
As they smiled and breathed
It was the most beautiful scene I had witnessed between two grown human beings.
They had lived
many years together.
Through hardships and Change
Through children
And
fighting
But most of all
A deep love survived by the double bed they had shared ever since they were married.
The song ended and they shared a sweet kiss
Five months later
We got the news
Jen’s father had terminal cancer.
Her father passed away a few moths later leaving in the wake of a most powerful energy.
Of life
Of family
Of deep love
I dropped off food to Jen’s mother and family after her father passed.
I gave Jen and her mother a hug
Feeling awkward and relieved
Awkward because I never know what to say or do in these moments
Relieved to see my friends face
There is something to be said about seeing someone face to face that lets you know they are.....at the very least.....ok.....
Knowing that this was the case we hugged again and I left
I hopped in my truck
Turned the key
Shifted into drive
When
“Harvest Moon”
came on the radio
“Jen I’m three houses down from your moms and look what’s on the radio”
I snapped a picture with my phone to show her the display of my truck radio.
“That’s my Dad!!.....”
She said
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Story challenge
Story Organization
There are times when I am writing a story and I find myself having trouble organising my thoughts into something
Here are some ideas that might help you if you are feeling a little stuck with the storytelling process
I took a course in July of 2020 called the “Story Skills Workshop” it was run by a lady named Bernadette Jiwa
The course was more for marketers…..I have to say I didn’t much care for the outline of the course
However
There was a Story structure that they gave out that was really sweet to follow.
It was called “The 5 C’s Story Structure”
Context (The Backstory) introduction to the writers world
Catalyst (The Event) Something changes in the writers world
Complication (The Obstacle) The writer is faced with a problem and a choice
Change (The Transformation) The writer decides on a path and a plan to overcome the obstacle
Consequence (The Resolution) The writer’s character’s fate, world, and worldview are altered
To simplify that even further
Character///Circumstances///Choices////Change
Or
A Character////In A Situation////Facing Choices
This section is not neccicary if your story feels good and already has your own special flow.
Take what feels good and leave the rest
Extras
Give Yourself Permission To Be Creative
TedTalk
Ehtan Hawke
Lets tell a story!
Roar
Moth GrandSLAM
Amanda Gorman
R2 Where Are You?
Tig Notaro
The Moth
Podcast
Podcast and a story
If you can’t open this link on your phone or computer no worries
You can go to anywhere you get your podcasts from
CastBox
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
Overcast
Anchor
The Podcast is called “The Creative Journey” with Arley Cox
Invitations
This week we are going to be gentle on ourselves
Telling stories can bring things up that might feel a bit painful
Its ok to take lots of breaks this week
It is also ok to dive deeper into those feelings
Do what feels right for you
Details will help you find your way through
Tell your story like you would if you were telling a good friend