How to Tell Your Story in 5 Easy Steps
Got something to say? Here’s how to get started on the road to self-expression
For most of my teens and twenties, I longed to write Something Great, but as soon as I sat down with a pen and pristine notebook I stalled. The truth was that I had nothing to say, yet. Or so I thought.
Now, looking back with middle-aged understanding, I know that wasn’t true. I had plenty to write about, living through teenage dramas and those life-forming twenties. I wish I’d recorded those stories from my early years. I might have, if I’d learned some simple truths earlier.
If, like me, you feel called to create something, but aren’t sure how to start, here are five strategies you can try:
1. Go do something
Get out and experience the world. You don’t have to hike Newfoundland’s T’Railway or coexist with orangutans for a year: just leave the house. Walk around the block.
Pay attention to your senses: smell, taste, touch, sounds. The weather, the light. Notice the buildings, the people, the graffiti, the litter.
Treat yourself to your favourite beverage at a cafe or pub, find a seat in the middle of the action and listen to the other tables. Pay attention to what the people around you are doing…
