We all have a story …

October 7, 2009 | Posted by admin

I read stories today.

Not only did I read stories, but I read many of them to a group of kids.

Grades One through Six. I read my little story about the chickadee, an excerpt from “The Black Cauldron”, “Zen Shorts” (a picture book) and even, (upon request) “What the Seasons Bring” (my flash fiction piece about gluttony).

It is read-in week in Alberta, and given such, teachers make time in all of their classes for kids to read. My cousin, an elementary school teacher, arranged for me to be one of the readers and to talk about my journey as an author ….

 I wasn’t quite sure what to say … but as I sat down in front of their eager expressions, asking me if I was going to “make a movie” about my book … the simple points came back to me:

 -          practice, practice, practice

-          read a lot if you want to be a good writer

-          everyone has a story – even if you think it’s been told before

 The kids got a big kick out of that one.

 “Sure, there’s a lot of stories about magic,” I said. “But is there a story about … excuse me, what is your name? You in the blue hoodie?”

“Me?” The little boy with big brown eyes pointed at himself incredulously, glancing down at his shirt, checking out if indeed it was blue.

“Yes, you.”

“My name is Ahmed.”

“I bet you there’s no story about a boy named Ahmed and magic.”

He grinned in reply.

It’s something I have to remind myself when I get caught up in this crazy world of publishing and marketing, trying to find the right “media angle” and “hook” for my book , so that it gets picked up in press releases.

 And as fortune would have it … TED released a great clip of Chimamanda Adichie warning about the danger of telling a single story. Check it out.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: stories | 6 Comments »

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