It’s December 30, 2025, and I’m happy to announce that I’ve just completed two full weeks of saying no to people. It’s fantastic. I’m a no machine! No’s have been flying out of me left and right.
You should go keto. No.
You’re looking sad. Have a piece of cheesecake. No.
You should turn your house into an Airbnb. No.
Buy a dozen Blackwing Palomino pencils even though you still have six left from the last pack. No. (I almost caved in on this one because Blackwings are the Kerrygold butter of pencils.)
I wish I could say I’ve been this good about saying no to bad ideas for years, but for much of my life I got talked into ridiculous things every other day.
Climb up Suicide Peak with nothing but two cans of Coke and a Cliff Bar? Sure!
Try to swim across Lake Padden in Bellingham to impress a woman and have to get rescued in the middle by a 10-year-old in an inflatable Snoopy raft? Why not?
Buy a flip phone in 2024 in an attempt to break my smartphone addiction? Technically, this was a great idea if you don’t ask friends, family, or girlfriend. Not only did it break my smartphone addiction, it also broke off all contact with everyone I wanted to stay in touch with. I call this only half a bad idea because at least I got a story out of it.
What I’m saying is, sometimes getting talked into stuff can lead to a great story, if you don’t have to tell it from jail or a hospital bed. Come out to the Swedish Club on Thursday, January 15th, and tell us about a time when you got talked into something you wish you hadn’t. Or maybe even a time when you almost got talked into something and bailed at the last moment. That could be a great story too. How did it happen, and what did you learn? Did you grow wise or bitter from it?
FGS themes are just suggestions, so you can come out and tell a story about anything as long as it follows our usual rules and guidelines.
Remember, a story isn’t just a series of things that happened. There has to be something at stake. As you work on a scene or section of your story, think about what you’re trying to overcome in that moment and what would happen if you didn’t. That’s what will pull the audience along.
Practice the story out loud to as many people as possible and time yourself when you’re doing it. Please don’t get onstage if you haven’t practiced your story. The audience is giving you their time and attention. It’s not fair to them if you get up there and try to wing it.
All stories have to be under 8 minutes. Stories can be as short as you want, but not over 8 minutes. Stories also have to be clean in both language and content. Send me an email if you have any questions about that.
The rest of the rules and guidelines are below:
Our free monthly online workshop is a great place to get feedback on your story.
I’m also happy to help anyone with a story they’re working on. Email me, and we can set up a phone call.
See you Thursday, January 15, at 7 pm on the top floor of the Seattle Swedish Club 1920 Dexter Ave, N Seattle, WA 98109
Paul
Freshgroundstories at gmail dot com
Fresh Ground Stories 