the hardest thing about storytelling

 

The healing power of storytelling emerges when four conditions are met:

          --when we listen to what our body is trying to tell us

          --when we feel an insistent urge to put our story into words

          --when we find a safe place to share it

          --when our story is heard and understood by someone we trust 

 
I hear this from people over and over again:

“I’ve always wanted to write, but…”

This is usually followed by a litany of excuses for not writing:

         …but I'm not good enough.         

         …but I don’t have the time for it.
         …but I don’t have anything important to say.

"All you have to do is write

one true sentence. 

Write the truest sentence that you know."

~Ernest Hemingway~

 

If opening lines come to you when you’re driving to work, or a memory sometimes sneaks up on you while you’re mowing the lawn, or snatches of dialogue come to you in the middle of the night, your story may be begging you to please get started.

"The scariest moment

is always just before you start."

~Stephen King~

You know who you are. We've been over this before. Your voice has been silenced for too long. Perhaps it was the "C" you received on your term paper in seventh grade because your teacher was having a bad day. Maybe you're surrounded by cynics who insist you can't earn a living as a writer. It might be your own inner critic lying to you about how bad you are at spelling and grammar. All of them conspiring against the creative, wise, and eager writer you could be.

"The hardest thing about getting started

is getting started."

~Guy Kawasaki~

jan