I wonder what sort of a tale we’ve fallen into?”
-Samwise Gamgee in The Fellowship of the Rings
Dear Awesome Readers,
I truly appreciate that you take time out of your busy lives and read words I write. Since I started this blog I’ve had an amazing time sharing race stories, running adventures, and any information I’ve found helpful in life. I look forward to many more running related adventures as well as some healthy-living stuff, but I’m going to add one more thing. It will be different.
What is My Story Project?
My Story Project is a writing exercise to learn how to tell my own stories with the purpose of self-knowledge, encouraging others, sharing God’s work, and developing my writing skills. I’m doing a 10 week study from Mariners Church that guides us through this process, and much of what I will write will be a part of that. My Story Project will be a series of posts, each one a short story. Most will be autobiographical, but I reserve the right to include the occasional fiction story. 😉
I’m going to share these unpolished writings on my blog. I have specific people I want to read them, but invite everyone who is interested to hear these stories. What better way to learn how to become a storyteller, than to actually tell stories?!
Become a Storyteller.
I invite you to do this with me. Start writing little pieces of your story. It doesn’t have to be on a blog or public at all. Everyone has a story. How you became who you are now. How you got to this point in your life. This is your story. You should know it and know how to share it. You might not think your story is very interesting, but you’d be wrong.
Understanding your narrative is key to understanding the deeper meaning of your life.”
-Story by Mariners Church
Everyone struggles with questions of worth and purpose. “Am I good enough?” “Does my life have meaning?” We can revisit the stories of our past to make sense of our present and inform our future.
He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”
-Lao Tzu
No one has a life story that doesn’t involve deep pain, so this process is not always fun or easy. However, sharing even our most common or silly stories deepens human understanding, connects us to each other, and can provide comfort and encouragement.
Hopefully my stories will serve as an example to you, not of excellent storytelling, but how to be vulnerable and wrestle with communicating things that are difficult to express. Yes, this is an exercise in introspection and touches on the discipline of mindfulness. However, you don’t have to think of that way. Just think about telling one story at a time.
Want to blog it? Here is a badge!
First Prompt
Try it with this first prompt: Write one story from childhood. Pick a memory from around 8 to 12 years old. Doesn’t have to be a life-changing event. Doesn’t need a purpose or moral to the story. Simply spend 20 minutes and write what you remember. What happened? Where were you? How did you feel? What were you thinking? Who was there?
Once you are finished, do it again with a different memory from any time in your life. Try to write one page for one memory or one life event. It is easier to start with fun memories, but don’t shy away from writing out the tough stuff. If you aren’t comfortable sharing these, that’s fine. The process of writing it out can be helpful just for you.
In the future, I’ll have new prompts for you.
For now, you can start reading my collection of short stories by clicking here.