This week, I committed to writing a "tiny story" every day for 100 days. It's part of the 100 Day Project, a global art project designed to inspire participants to do something creative every day.
Only eight days in and I've already learned that stories are everywhere. Turn left, turn right, look up, look down - you can find a story. We don't need to leave our homes or even our rooms. Stories sit within us, whether they are inspired by true events (as some of mine below are) or whether they were borne purely of our imaginations.
I've also been thinking about what makes a story a story. Must it have a beginning, middle and end? Does it need to have a point? What is it about your favorite stories that draw you to them? For me, it must not only move me, but also ground me. There must be some motion forward, something must happen, even if the shift occurs within a character. I also need something to tether me to this world - a detail that evokes a sensory experience. Without specifics, I am unable to inhabit the storyteller's world.
Most importantly, the storyteller must be in dialog with the reader. In his acceptance speech for the Nobel prize in literature, Kazuo Ishiguro says: "[In] the end, stories are about one person saying to another: This is the way it feels to me. Can you understand what I’m saying? Does it also feel this way to you?"
What about you? Where do your stories live? What draws you to the stories of others?
Below is my week in tiny stories, with a tiny note for each. I wonder: can you understand what I'm saying? How does this feel to you?
Day 1: On the connections, differences and love between mother and daughter:
Day 2: Well, I'm just having fun with this one...
Day 3: On aging and loneliness:
Day 4: On humorous irony:
Day 5: On the magic of change:
Day 6: On love and playful rivalry:
Day 7: On growing up and growing wise:
As always, thank you for reading!