I suppose I could have chosen this theme for any month since Covid hit. It feels like the last 20 months have been a real test in how to deal with not getting what I want. If anyone needs any bright sides, upsides, plus sides, sunny sides, rays of hope, silver linings, or glasses half-full I have a bunch over here I’m not using.
Normally, I do pretty well with not getting what I want because I’ve had a lot of experience in that area. And I’m sure the gratitude fairy will knock on my door anytime now and remind me that I have the power to dig one of those silver linings out of the closet any time I want.
But right now I’d love to hear about a time when you didn’t get what you wanted. It doesn’t have to be during Covid. It could be from any time in the rich pageant that’s been your life.
What were you hoping for that didn’t happen? Was it love? Money? Work? A cure for male pattern baldness? What happened and how did you deal with it? I think we’d all love to hear that kind of story right now.
Remember to practice your story out loud on as many people as possible and time yourself when you’re doing it. All stories have to be under 8 minutes. Stories can be as short as you want but not over 8 minutes. If your story goes long, someone else who practiced for weeks might not get a chance to tell. Stories also have to be clean in both language and content. Send me an email or give me a call if you have any questions about that.
The best advice I ever got on coming up with a story is to start with your last line and work backward (thanks The Moth!) If you know where you want to end up, it’s easier to figure out what other moments fit and don’t fit in the story.
Rules and guidelines for telling at FGS are below:
Workshops are a great way to get feedback on a story you’re working on. Here is one I highly recommend: https://www.meetup.com/Fresh-Ground-Stories-Storytelling-Workshop/
I’m also happy to help people with their stories. Send me an email and we can set up a phone call. (Meetup doesn’t always like the “reply” feature so it’s best to start a new email and send it to me directly at freshgroundstories@gmail.com)
If you like to work alone, this is the best book I’ve ever seen on personal storytelling:
We’ll be on Zoom again unless the indoor mask mandate changes. Now is a great time for our out-of-town tellers to share more stories with us.
I’ll send out the Zoom link to everyone on the Monday before the show which is December 13.
I hope to see a bunch of you on the 16th!
Paul
freshgroundstories@gmail.com
Fresh Ground Stories 