Thanks to everyone who came out last Thursday and supported our tellers. It was a great show. We had three new first-timers and one of them drove four counties to tell her story. That might be a new state record 🙂

As always, we learned a lot that night. We learned that when you jump off a cliff your life really does flash before your eyes and if you haven’t lived very long then you’ll run out of memories before you hit the water.

We learned what happens when you get malaria and the doctor keeps treating you for Dengue Fever. We know what happens when a sensitive young girl grows up watching horror movies. And we know that some of us will do the right thing when we find our ex-husband’s ashes in a closet.

I found out my son is a Swiftie and saw the best of humanity one day in Lumen Field. We know that eight-year-old girls can insult someone so hard that they remember it 40 years later. And we know that a water bottle can freeze on your hip if it’s cold enough outside the day you go hiking.

We found out what it feels like to see your ex-wife show up on a dating app, and we found out that the Beatles’ music can still move an audience 50 years after they broke up. Most importantly, we found out what happens when the government tries to cover up a lie at the cost of human lives. 

It was an amazing night with a stage full of wonderful tellers.

I decided to cancel our December show because the third Thursday falls on the 21st and is too close to Christmas. So our next show will be January 18. The theme is, “Stories of finding what you love.” I’ll get the invite out in a few days so look for it in your email.

I got a good recording of Thursday’s show so if you told a story that night let me know if you want a copy of it.

If you’ve come to our show, you know that I give away a copy of this book to a randomly chosen first-time teller: https://www.amazon.com/Storyworthy-Engage-Persuade-through-Storytelling/dp/1608685489

It’s the best book I’ve read on the type of storytelling we do at FGS. If you don’t want to buy the book, the author gives away a free PDF of his top storytelling tips: https://www.storyworthymd.com/my-best-storytelling-tips-for-storytellers

Don’t forget to support our friends in Burien at 7Stories!

https://www.meetup.com/7-stories/

Have a great Thanksgiving. See you on January 18!

Paul

Freshgroundstories at gmail dot com

Hi Everyone,

I hope you’re looking forward to our next show on Nov 16th. The theme is “Just Say No – Stories where you should have said no but didn’t.” 

If you want to tell a story, remember to practice out loud as often as possible and be sure to make the story about one incident and not a list of things you should have said no to. We just had a great online workshop last Sunday and I’m hoping some of those folks will bring a story to tell on the 16th.

I also want to let you know on November 18th I’m emceeing the annual NAMI fundraiser, “The Brainpower Chronicles.” There will be six people sharing their personal mental health stories. I’ve been involved with the BPC since it began in 2017 and I’ve heard some of the most powerful stories I’ve ever heard anywhere on those stages. I hope you can join me there at the Kirkland Performing Arts Center. https://www.namiwa.org/brainpower-chronicles

I’m proud that we’ve had a number of FGS folks share their story at the BPC. One of my goals with FGS is to help people learn how to tell stories so they can go out into the world and make a difference with them. Though not every story is appropriate for our show, the skills you learn at FGS will help you tell any kind of story.

Last year, the WA State Health Care Authority asked me and my friend Zac (another FGS teller) to find people in recovery from addiction or mental illness and help them share their stories. They called the project “Portraits of Hope.” Zac and I went all over the state talking to some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. Some I already knew, and the rest I came to know by sitting with them for hours listening to their stories. 

Here’s the interview I did with one of our regular FGS tellers, Mary Anne Moorman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K-YVk1UYj0&list=PLFN25X6qxG3-VlxRohLzAqYIxHbkfbSbJ&index=9&t=5s

This is how storytelling can change lives. Mary Anne had told hundreds of stories before she was ready to share the one she’d been keeping to herself since she was a child. The first time she told it was at the Brainpower Chronicles in 2018. The second time she told it was to me during this interview. The skills she learned telling other stories helped her tell this one, the hardest one.

The more we share our stories, the easier they are to bear. 

I hope to see a bunch of you at the show next week. Our next workshop isn’t until December so call or write me if you’d like help with your story. 

Our free monthly FGS workshop

https://www.meetup.com/fresh-ground-stories-storytelling-workshop/

7Stories is a wonderful open-mic storytelling show in Burien. Join their meetup group if you’d like to get their monthly invites.

https://www.meetup.com/7-stories/

Take care everyone,

Paul
freshgroundstories at Gmail dot com

We’ve all said yes to things we shouldn’t have. At last count, I have 3,452 things I should have said no to but didn’t. Not all of them are storyworthy but I bet at least a couple dozen are. Some of them I’m too embarrassed to talk about, but there are a few I’d be willing to say in public. 

The time I tried to swim across the lake to impress a woman I was dating? I should have said no to that one. The gig I accepted in Homer, AK at Alice’s Champagne Palace? I definitely should have said no to that one. Saying the wrong thing to that guy with a knife in the parking lot of Chilkoot Charlie’s bar in 1986? I definitely should have kept my mouth shut and walked away from that one. 

The thing that keeps me from regretting all those things is that I learned something from them. So even though I should have said no in those moments at least I got some lessons. 

That’s the kind of story we’re looking for. Come tell a story about a time when you should have said no but didn’t. What happened and what did you learn from it? Did it change the way you act today? Did you learn something about yourself that you wouldn’t have otherwise?

Remember to practice your story out loud on 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:

Storytelling Rules and Guidelines

Workshops are a great way to get feedback on a story you’re working on. Here is one I highly recommend. It’s run by two people who have told many times at FGS and other shows in the area:  

https://www.meetup.com/Fresh-Ground-Stories-Storytelling-Workshop/

I’m also happy to help anyone with a story they’re working on. Send me an email and we can set up a phone call.

See you on Thursday, November 16 at 7 pm, at the Chabad of Queen Anne – Magnolia. 1825 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109 (Remember, no non-kosher food in the building)

Paul
Freshgroundstories at gmail dot com

Hi Everyone,

I hope you’re looking forward to our next show this Thursday. The theme is “Fish out of water – Stories of not fitting in”

https://www.meetup.com/fresh-ground-stories/events/296434043/

I also want to tell you about another wonderful storytelling show, 7 Stories. They started earlier this year and just set up their own Meetup group. Click here to check them out.

https://www.meetup.com/7-stories/

Their members have been very supportive of FGS and you’ve heard them tell stories with us a number of times. So join their meetup and check out one of their shows!

See you all next Thursday. Email me directly if you have any questions 🙂

Paul

Freshgroundstories at gmail dot com

This month we’re going back to a theme we haven’t done since 2015. “Fish out of water – Stories of not fitting in.”

Every one of us, no matter how mainstream we may look to others, has felt like we don’t fit in. Back in 2015, I told the story of how my mother was a missionary and how embarrassing it was as a kid to knock on strangers’ doors and talk about religion. It was 30 years before I revealed that to anyone. I suppose that experience might have prepared me to start doing comedy and storytelling later on but I can’t help but think there were better ways to learn those skills. At the very least, it taught me the importance of minding my own business, and how to go from a smile to a slammed door in two seconds.

But that’s the kind of story we’re looking for. Come tell a story about a time when you didn’t fit in. What was it and how did you handle it? What did you learn? Do you still feel that way today? Are you grateful for what you learned or do you wish you had never had to deal with it?

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. 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:

Storytelling Rules and Guidelines

Workshops are a great way to get feedback on a story you’re working on. Here is one I highly recommend. It’s run by two people who have told many times at FGS and other shows in the area:  

https://www.meetup.com/Fresh-Ground-Stories-Storytelling-Workshop/

I’m also happy to help anyone with a story they’re working on. Send me an email and we can set up a phone call.

See you on Thursday, October 19 at 7 pm, at the Chabad of Queen Anne – Magnolia. 1825 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109 (Remember, no non-kosher food in the building)

Paul

Freshgroundstories at gmail dot com