Thursday, August 25, 2011

Tell Me A Story

THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A GOOD STORY!
Some of my favorite childhood memories are intertwined with the fictional tales my father told as we gathered around a flickering campfire. Take a real event, add in a little imagination and vuala--you've got the makings of something great that penetrates our mind's vision and appeals to the creativity in all of us.

My father, during his Highway Patrol days, spent countless hours driving the roads of southern Utah, and that resulted in many great stories that have now been passed down to his grand kids. A routine assignment, like shuttling blood from our local hospital to a medical clinic on the reservation, turned into an edge-of-your-seat tale when he added in a mysterious hitchhiker with incomprehensible powers that seemed to transcend time. I used to hang on every word and then beg for more as the campfire slowly diminished to glowing embers.

Today I crave the opportunity to make up my own stories. Long trips, nights around the campfire, and late October evenings curled up in a blanket on the couch all lend the opportunity to think up a good adventure. And let me tell you--I take those opportunities to spin a yarn when I can. You can too.

Opportunities are everywhere. Recently I went on a youth camp to Mutual Dell and a few minutes of storytelling during the confidence course turned the climbing wall into a planned escape from a concentration camp. We had to time our escape perfectly between the changing of the guards. It was harrowing at times, and two leaders weren't able to escape to freedom, but their sacrifice saved the rest of our group. The kids loved it!

"Hurry--before the guards come!"

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PLAY ALONG
All you need is a little inspiration to get your story going. Try this story starter:
You had planned to attend a friend's birthday party and plugged her new address into your GPS system, but the system guided you to somewhere else. Oddly enough, there was a man waiting for you at this mysterious place. "Sorry I had to rig your GPS, but this is urgent," said the person
Now you finish the story. You can post you results in the comments.
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If you need more inspiration to get your own storytelling juices flowing, check out the the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival coming Sept 1-3.

3 days of pure fun featuring some of the best storytellers in the nation, puppeteers, and other performers!


  
Happy storytelling!!!!

2 comments:

  1. My dad is a storyteller too. Of course he tell only "true" stories. Seriously I have no idea what our family history is on his side since all of it has been enhanced, but I love his version of history.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I wrote something but it is too long to post here. I'll figure out another way to post it.

    ReplyDelete

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