Your Story Matters

Last week, Chris Baty, Chris Angotti, and Grant Faulkner returned from their trip to Alaska. All they could talk about was the abundance of storytelling in that great state. Nikki Hyson, one of our favorite Wrimos, met them there, and wowed with her love for writing, then went on to win the Book Doctors’ Pitchapalooza.

We asked her to write a note to you, fellow storytellers. Read on for her mash note to the NaNoWriMo community:

Your story matters. Three little words wound together to form a spell capable of indescribable power to any daring to wield it. Power capable of granting freedom, faith and safety. Freedom to put pen to paper and step through a door of your own design. Faith in the twisting path under your feet as it leads you over mountains, through valleys and across oceans to an end that is yours in the telling. Safety in the knowledge that you don’t have to be alone if you don’t want to be.

Your story matters. Three champions step forward, gold nibs glinting with the first hint of dawn. As one they smile though each is uniquely different than the one beside him. They are the King that Was, the King that Is, and the Guardian of Young Possibilities. They have crossed realms far and wide to share their message, but more importantly they have come to listen because…Your story matters.

This bit of whimsy may have been the last thing Grant expected when he asked me to write a guest blog about my week with him, Chris Baty, and Chris Angotti in Craig, Alaska. Then again, it might be just what he wanted. After all, how else would a gal who writes “elf chick lit” see the world around her? And that is the point, isn’t it? That each of us is filled to bursting with our own unique stories to tell so that everyone can see, hear, and feel them. That our story…your story, matters.

I spent a week watching and listening to three utterly ordinary and extraordinary guys who are passionate about one thing. We went for walks through a fishing town. We shared meals and bounced along dirt roads between libraries. We even went fishing and shared a box of Bonine seasick pills. They each told great stories.

What will I remember most? Chris Angotti catching a really nice salmon? Grant Faulkner searching for the perfect birthday present? Chris Baty explaining how to eat sushi when he realized I’d never had it before? Tough choice, and I could never choose between them. Actually, it was when each one, in a quiet moment, asked me for a bit of my own story and then listened. 

Your story matters. It isn’t just three little words. It’s a way of life.