Telling the Story

As I've been getting more into the habit of writing on a regular basis, 

I've found that I really love when my stories begin churning out organic twists and turns. I'm an admitted pantser - I don't really plan all that much whats going to happen exactly - I just begin with an idea or a feel - and start. I think what I really appreciate about organic story developments are how they appear like little instances where I know I have a live one on the hook. I drop my line and bate into the writing waters each day (or just about), and wait. 

By dedicating about an hour each day for my 1,000 words of story writing, I find it's my way to tell the magical story muses that while I understand they're supremely busy visiting everybody else, I will be in the same spot (my wife and I call it our 'spare 'oom'), at about the same time, doing the same thing. Last night a few little micro-bursts pleasant appeared on the screen as I typed. I wasn't trying to write anything in particular - merely continuing where I had left off the previous night, telling the story.

Telling the Story, I think, is the main crux of writing. You can be aware of how good writing looks like (IE Grammar), but what a good story is has mostly to do with your ability to tell the story. Tell it. Don't describe it or talk about it - tell it. Stories have a natural rhythm and progression. They want to be told. You just have to tell them, to the best of your ability. And don't be afraid to let your tale take you where it wants to go, either. 9 times out of 10, I've discovered the most exciting nooks and crannies when my story is leading me - not the other way round. As you're doing this, I think it helps to promote your heart. All the best stories revolve around an author's heart, or the story the author is relating. When you've got that, the rest falls into place because no matter how many other books or tales you've read or heard, this gleaming theme you've felt all along is allowed to rise triumphantly to the surface, displayed at last for all the world to see.

So tell your story!
Let it flow out of you with all the strength your heart, soul - mind and strength can muster.
Let your tale lead you.
"It's a dangerous business stepping outside your door - you step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to..."


~ Ryan