“Fascinating, but it’s not a story.”
Memories, conversations overheard, dreams, a line from a great book, and musings while stuck in traffic: these are all great sources for story writers. But, a writer can not simply retell what happened, or what she heard or read or thought. Because memories, conversations overheard, etc. are not stories. Here’s an example, using something my mother told me.
When she was a child on the farm, in the 1930’s, her mother rose early in the morning. Sometimes, she would kill a chicken, “dress” it (don’t ask me what that means, please), and fry it for the children to take to school for their lunch. (Can you imagine having fresh fried chicken for lunch?) My mother rode a school bus across country roads to the school in town. At lunch time, she would take out her lunch bucket and trade her chicken to a town kid for a peanut butter sandwich. You see, my mother’s family did not buy peanut butter, and the town kid’s mother kept no chickens.
What a story, right? It’s interesting and tells us something about families in the 1930’s. But, it is not a literary story. Two important elements of a story are missing: conflict and resolution. This memory could be part of a story, but by itself it is not a story. Maybe the conflict is between the children’s parents, and their lunch trade is the beginning of peace between them. That’s just off the top of my head, which brings me to another point. By thinking about this memory, asking yourself questions (Who is the city kid? What is the relationship of the children before and after the lunch swap? what if this was the family’s last chicken?) you can create a literary story from this memory.
You may find, in doing this thinking, that you create a story that has nothing to do with the lunch swap, or the 1930’s, or even chickens. Don’t worry. Follow your creative voice.
Whatever you do, please don’t give up the story because it doesn’t include your original idea. There is no expiration date on ideas.
So, dream on, pump your parents for their memories, read constantly, and eavesdrop when it is safe to do so. But, don’t stop there. Do the work required to create a story. Then, share it with the world.
When she was a child on the farm, in the 1930’s, her mother rose early in the morning. Sometimes, she would kill a chicken, “dress” it (don’t ask me what that means, please), and fry it for the children to take to school for their lunch. (Can you imagine having fresh fried chicken for lunch?) My mother rode a school bus across country roads to the school in town. At lunch time, she would take out her lunch bucket and trade her chicken to a town kid for a peanut butter sandwich. You see, my mother’s family did not buy peanut butter, and the town kid’s mother kept no chickens.
What a story, right? It’s interesting and tells us something about families in the 1930’s. But, it is not a literary story. Two important elements of a story are missing: conflict and resolution. This memory could be part of a story, but by itself it is not a story. Maybe the conflict is between the children’s parents, and their lunch trade is the beginning of peace between them. That’s just off the top of my head, which brings me to another point. By thinking about this memory, asking yourself questions (Who is the city kid? What is the relationship of the children before and after the lunch swap? what if this was the family’s last chicken?) you can create a literary story from this memory.
You may find, in doing this thinking, that you create a story that has nothing to do with the lunch swap, or the 1930’s, or even chickens. Don’t worry. Follow your creative voice.
Whatever you do, please don’t give up the story because it doesn’t include your original idea. There is no expiration date on ideas.
So, dream on, pump your parents for their memories, read constantly, and eavesdrop when it is safe to do so. But, don’t stop there. Do the work required to create a story. Then, share it with the world.
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