In this world of quarantine and social distancing, the only escape we have left is story-based. Whether you choose to open a book, lose yourself in a movie, or tackle the latest video game story mode, it is the story that draws us in and lets us forget about our worries for a while.
Story holds power. It distracts, educates, illuminates, engages, motivates, persuades, inspires and hits just about every other human emotion. It has the ability to change minds and launch adventures. It can ease a burdened heart and open an intractable mind. And story can capture history and the human condition.
It is, in my humble opinion, one of the most powerful forces on the planet.
Humans have always told stories, from the time we have lived in caves, through the ages and even now when we share stories and anecdotes in real time on social media. Story persists because it is how we share who we are and our sense of place in the world.
Why is this important? Because with the world shut down, it is the perfect time to indulge in story, whether writing them, watching or reading them, or sharing them. It is a great time to capture this crazy time when we are all hiding in our houses and learning how to be a hermit in the modern age. It’s a great time to explore how we want our futures to be when the masks finally come off and we are let loose upon the world again.
Story matters. Now more than ever. So pick up a pen or start tapping keys. Get your ideas on the page. Capture your thoughts. Capture how it feels to be human in these tumultuous times.
This is the time to write. And if you can’t find inspiration, turn to stories. Watch movies. Read books. Dive into video games. Fall through the rabbit hole of someone else’s life and find the inspiration to write your own world and your own characters or to reveal your own life in a deeply personal memoir.
We may not be able to travel the world, but we can still indulge in story and that is the next best thing.
My favorite way to enjoy stories beyond books is to watch classic movies. Before the time of nonlinear editing and special effects, movies relied on great dialogue and character development. They explored story in a simpler way. I recommend watching The Philadelphia Story with Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart if you want to hear great dialogue and see one of the best drunk scenes ever filmed. But I’d watch anything with those three or Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, or Gregory Peck. It’s not that modern movies can’t have great story, it’s just hard to find a modern movie that develops the story the same way as the classic films did, using long takes and minimal cutting.
But maybe movies aren’t your thing. That’s okay. There are so many sources for story. Immerse yourself in them wherever you can. Then write.
If you’re feeling a bit unequal to the challenge of writing, this is a great time to brush up on grammar, syntax, vocabulary and story structure. Story would be possible without words. Without observation and thought. Without language and syntax. If you need a refresher course, I’d recommend these books:
Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English by Patricia T. O’Conner
Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wickedly Effective Prose by Constance Hale
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss (Great for the Queen’s English, not as good for American)
On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser
Zen and the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew by Ursula K. Le Guin
A Writer’s Guide to Active Setting: How to Enhance Your Fiction with More Descriptive, Dynamic Settings by Mary Buckham
Make a Scene: Crafting a Powerful Story One Scene at a Time by Jordan Rosenfeld
What are some of your favorite movies, grammar books, writing books, stories?