Road Trip to NaNo: Find Your Story Where No One Else Is Looking

NaNoWriMo is an international event, and the stories being written every year reflect our hundreds of participating regions. We’re taking a Road Trip to NaNo to hear from our amazing writers all around the world. Today, Barrington Lloyd-Lovett, our Municipal Liaison in the San Francisco region challenges you to look for stories where no one else is looking: 

San Francisco is a defining city. I don’t mean that San Francisco defines anything directly. I mean that concepts, movements, and industries are defined in and by San Francisco. 

The Mission burrito? San Francisco. Gay marriage? (Largely and vocally) San Francisco. Tech companies? SF, my friend. All of these and more were defined or developed in our lovely city and the surrounding area, and that’s something to be proud of…

Having transferred here as an outsider, I’m continually impressed by the determination and resilience of the natives and adopted residents to have their stories heard. 

I get the sense that San Francisco is a place where one can come with an idea and make it a true reality. The concentration of innovators, writers, artists, thinkers, and collaborators seems higher here. It’s almost as if the ether—and the weather—are conspiring to bring great minds to the Bay, where we can work together to figure out exactly what the city wants in order to thrive.

The most interesting part for me has been letting go of what I think the city needs, and writing the stories that come. This is the kind of city that tells its own story. It’s easy to get sidetracked by what seems important on the outset—housing, taxes, and business all have their distracting pull, but the city is so much more than just those few things. 

Even without diving into the history of San Francisco, there’s so much potential in the grit of the neighborhoods. Each neighborhood has its own feel, a distinct pulse. Finding a way to tap into that pulse is a sure shot into a story, especially a story that no one else can tell. You can see what others can’t when you’re looking where no one else will.

Barrington Lloyd-Lovett is unnecessarily excited by video games, and doesn’t write enough, even though he writes too much. He loves Persian literature (in the original language), watches not-quite-enough soccer, and generally enjoys good food and wine. He also plays musical instruments, most notably the piano.

Top photo by Flickr user Michael Muraz.