The following questions have been on my mind lately: Where do stories come from? Do authors just pull them out of thin air? Is there some kind of divine intervention that brings a good story to mind? What’s the difference between a good and a bad story?
These are all fairly complex, philosophical questions that don’t have cut and dry answers. I can’t tell you how stories come into being or why some days are easier to think of them than the next. What I can tell you is that stories are not confined to the literary world. You don’t need to read books or meditate until they magically pop into your head. In fact, you encounter them so often that you probably don’t even realize it.
When someone asks how your day was at work and you tell them about the strange customer you had, that’s a story. When you’re at a party and you recount how poorly your first experience with alcohol went, that’s a story. When you’re describing your favourite hobby to someone else, that’s a story.
Each and every conversation you have is an exchange of stories as they are an essential aspect of human interaction and bonding. That’s why people are compelled by them in the first place.
Just because people interact using stories all the time doesn’t mean that everyone is good at them. I’m sure you can think of at least one person in your life who you can’t bear to listen to as they tell a story, and one person who you love to hear from. If you can pinpoint what makes these people good or bad storytellers, you can improve your own ability.
I’ll give you some examples from my own life, so you understand what I mean. One of my friends from high school gives way too many details when he tells a story. He could be telling a story about his grandpa and it will start with what he had for breakfast that day. From this friend, I learned the importance of editing out unnecessary details in my texts.
On the flip side, one of my housemates is a great storyteller. Likely due to her background in theatre, she is always animated when talking and pauses for dramatic effect. From her, I learned how to dramatize seemingly mundane events to make them more entertaining for an audience.
These are just two examples of what I have learned about writing by simply talking to people. As much as you learn from reading books, you can also learn by speaking your friends.
Next time you’re having a conversation with someone, try evaluating the effectiveness of their storytelling and use that to build upon your own writing skills.