On storytelling

Are you a storyteller? Do you often want to talk about what happened once upon a time? I guess this is natural. Everyone has a story, and most people want to tell their stories. Life itself is a story, full of events.

Now, the urge to tell your story is the easy part. Actual telling of your story is the hard part. Think about it, life happens to us all, we all have stories, but then I won't know your story or people won't know your story if you don't tell it. That's the simple truth.

Telling a story could be hard, that's what I wanna talk to you about. First of all, there are many ways you can tell your story; by writing, singing, painting, talking, etc. But let's focus on writing, the literary aspect. You have your pen and paper or a laptop, but you can't write. Why?

What's stopping you from writing? What's stopping you from telling that story? Lack of muse? Writer's block? There are so many thing that could hinder you from expressing yourself. But first let's talk about the reality of self-expression. Thinking is easier than doing. You know that, right? Dreamers and doers... entertaining storylines in your mind is the easy part, but when it comes to putting that story down physically, then so many rules emerge. Rules that make self-expression difficult; language rules, comfortablity factor (are you comfortable?), clarity (that story that you got right in your mind, are you sure it's as complete as it feels?)

In the mind, emotions are in charge. But in real life, details are in charge. When we think about a story in our minds what we really experience is how the story makes us 'feel', not how it happened exactly. So each time you sit in front of your laptop or phone or with your pen and paper, know that what you're about to do is going to be very tasking. Not because you're not good at it, but because you're transcribing from one form of experience to another, from emotions to details. So don't rush, take your time, writing stories take time.