a list of stories.
Over here I have a lot of stories humming about inside me. Stories I want to share with you. Stories I want to write into a journal. Stories that are almost begging to be put inside an art journal that is patiently waiting for me to dive into. Stories that need to be put down because they are getting too heavy to carry.
When I feel full to overflowing like I do today and know that I won't be able to get to these stories right now, I have to literally make a list of them so I don't forget. The truth is that they can kind of escape when the overflowing happens. The lines and ideas that are weaving there way around my mind and heart might escape through a side door and find someone else. So I have to get something onto a page.
Sometimes I add to the list in my green Smash journal. Sometimes I literally make a list on the bathroom mirror. Sometimes I just grab any paper I can find and start writing and then tape that paper to the wall of my studio (I've learned that I must tape it up or it will get lost.)
Most importantly I remind myself over and over again that it is okay to tell the true stories. The uncertainty around this can come up when the list writing begins. I find myself pausing and thinking, "Oh not that one. I can't write about that one."
But this is the magic of the list. It is just ideas onto the page. It is a space to hold the stories until you can unpack them into more details and into another container that will gather the details. That next container might be a blog post, a story for my newsletter, an ecourse, a story I want to tell at one of my retreats, or even pieces of a new book.
What do you do when the stories are overflowing inside? Do you make a list? Do you ignore them? Do you pretend that you don't really want to tell them? Do you just start writing, creating, painting, playing?
true stories pocket talisman in the shop
My hope for you is that you seek out the spaces where you feel safe to tell the true stories: a journal, with a friend, on a stage, on your blog, in a private community, and how the list goes on. You deserve to tell your true stories honey.
Yes.
PS Updating this to add that I love Glennon Doyle Melton's take on letting the idea go when your hands are full. So if you suddenly have a story idea appear while you are in the middle of something in your life that needs you more than the story does, it's okay to let it go into the wind. Maybe it will come back to you; maybe it will move on. Believing in abundance is a very good thing.
it's okay to tell the true stories in here
Reader Comments (6)
thank you for this. Your permission helps me along when parental advice says no no no.
This is an area where I'm finding myself doing a lot of work lately... I took a storytelling workshop over the weekend and one of the things that I ended up getting out of it was a realization that while I'm okay with telling the what happened part, I'm very hesitant, and dare I say resistant to dig deeper into the questions of "How did you feel because of this?" and "Why did this happen?"
Usually I find myself saying I will remember the stories except I only forget and don't return to them most of the time. From now on I will jot them down so that I can return to them when I'm ready. Thanks for sharing this post, Liz.
thanks for reminding me I have stories that should be told!! I do often just let the little things go, rarely do I write a reminder to myself, but I've realized lately that I have a lot of stories that do not have photos "attached", so now I'm going to make an effort to write a list of stories instead of waiting for a prompt to shine a light on what's inside my head.
Thank you.
I love this talisman so much!
I usually get story ideas when I'm walking or driving or something else that precludes me from writing it down. Sometimes I record it into my phone. Many ideas just slip away before I can lasso them into a holding place, as if they don't want to become known yet. Really I believe the Holy Spirit helps me hold on to those that I need to bring to that someone who needs it. Thank you for sharing your experience - I like knowing others have overflowing ideas that go away.