What's YOUR Story?

Ricky’s junior high English teacher tossed back his paper and said, “Too melodramatic. Write what you know.” Huh? He thought he’d written a great story – a spin on an exciting main character on a popular TV western. Everyday life was boring. Like when he tagged along with his mom on her visits to help out an elderly neighbor lady. The other kids got A’s and B’s. Well, he’d school the teacher! His next paper was a very detailed report of a visit to the neighbor lady. Sights, sounds, smells, dialogue. Painful detail. Ha, he thought, a clever joke!

Next time, the teacher tossed back Ricky’s paper and just nodded. On the front was an A. Ricky Gervais said this was the proudest moment of his life. He became a famous writer, comedian, actor, and producer. He said his teacher taught him that “being honest is what counts.” “Trying to make the ordinary extraordinary is so much better than starting with the extraordinary” because “it doesn’t really connect.” “If something is real for one person, it’s touched their life. Your job is to make the audience as excited and fascinated as you are. Real life does that.”

Write what you know – what you’ve experienced, noticed, observed, learned, strongly react to. What’s YOUR story - your origin, development, or back story? Just write. Don’t pressure yourself to be perfect. See where the act itself takes you, what memories and emotions it dredges up. If what comes up is real and moves you, it will likely connect with someone – maybe even with a lot of someone’s!