A classic storytelling mistake we make – We start building stories from scratch. That’s too hard.
A better approach is to have the raw material in place. By doing this, you already have a head start…
How do we get this raw material, though?
We often think that the raw material lies in big, humungous things.
Such as –
- A Big event (Example – The Stock market crash)
- A life-changing incident (Example – Surviving a car crash)
- A profound conversation (Example – A conversation with a meditation teacher)
- An out-of-the-world observation (Example – I witnessed a robbery today!)
That’s not true.
The raw material lies in simple, mundane things. Such as –
- A routine event (Example – The maid didn’t show up to work today.)
- A simple incident (Example – The toddler next door gave me a cookie)
- A regular conversation (Example – A conversation with a cab driver about his family)
- A simple observation – (Example – The grandmother next door prays every morning)
When we show up and pay attention to these events, we can note them down. The beauty lies in the mundane, not in the extraordinary.
An example –
The maid didn’t show up for work today. My mother was visibly stressed.
‘How will we manage?’ she asked.
That’s when the entire family stepped up. My father offered to do the dishes. My wife and I offered to do the floor. My mother acted as a captain, giving us instructions. It took us 23 minutes, after which we were rewarded with a tidy house.
That’s the thing about a crisis. They can either tear us apart or bring us together.