March Slice of Life Story Challenge
hosted at the Two Writing Teachers
Join us for a month of writing!
For as
long as I can remember I have wanted to be a writer…a teller
of great stories. I wanted to write things that others would be in awe of, want
to read again and again.
But
there was a problem. I thought to be a writer, a storyteller you had to have
life experiences worthy of writing about, worthy of others to read. And to me, I
have had no such experiences.
My grandpa was a great storyteller. I can remember as a child and adult listening
to the stories of his life. He was born in 1910 so he had seen his share of new
inventions, heartache, devastation, love, growth and experiences to fill a
library. But it was his stories of his life on the farm that held me in
rapture.
He told
about his teams of horses used to plow the fields, Maude and Bell were two of his
favorites. He welded stories of his youth and farming life like he worked his
farm full of pride and hope.
My
mother too has always been a great storyteller. She too had stories of life as
a child on their Kansas farm. As a child I yearned to hear over and over of how
her pony Candy would run under a tree, just to knock her or her sister off of
her back. Or how her dad sold that same pony when she was older. She talks of
childhood that many can only dream about.
My
brothers also have this same knack for storytelling, and writing. My oldest has
written speeches that can bring a room to tears in one breath and rolling with
laughter in the next. And the other brother weaves a story from the tiniest of
moments and turns them into the funniest tale you have ever heard.
They are
all storytellers. They are what I dream of being some day.
What a beautiful goal! Sounds like you have amazing mentors to learn the craft of storytelling. I have always been intrigued by people who have that skill too- it is not one I have developed yet either. Good luck with your goal!
ReplyDeleteKeep writing, keep telling, that's how the storyteller gets the story told. You can do it.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTammy,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like being a storyteller is in your genes. When you said this, "I thought to be a writer, a storyteller you had to have life experiences worthy of writing about, worthy of others to read." I thought of the young writers I work with each day. We have a lot of conversations because they don't think they have stories in their lives. I think the Slice of Life Challenge is helping to see they have plenty of stories. It isn't so much the story as the way it is told. We talk a lot about books in which authors choose topics that would be boring, but they make it interesting by turning it into a story. It's the way they weave it.
Keep finding your stories,
Cathy