Telling Stories

There is fiction in the space between.

The lines on your page of memories.

Write it down, but it doesn't mean

You're not just telling stories...

~Tracy Chapman: "Telling Stories"

Why do I feel the need to share "my stories?" Obviously, for this course, sharing stories is essential, but even outside the course, I have now taken to blogging and vlogging? Is it because I like the idea that my thoughts matter to someone else besides myself? Is it because I want to have a way to look back on the lessons this life is teaching me as I go along? Is it because I feel I have some sort of insight to offer others who are reading my words? Maybe it is a bit of all three. Or, maybe, it is because I use these opportunities to tell stories; particularly in the digital form, as a sort of "free therapy" - a way to get out on "paper" the things I am thinking and feeling in my head.

Yes, I am sharing what is truth to me, but that doesn't necessarily mean my truth is shared by someone else. Does that mean that my story is fictional to others? Is it possible to accept someone else's version of the truth as truth all the same?

I was thinking about this the other day as I was listening to this song. My husband - an avid and very gifted guitar player has recently taken to learning Tracy Chapman songs and trying to get me to sing them. He asked me to choose my favorite and I immediately thought of "Telling Stories."I have literally heard this song at least 50 times because I was obsessed with it a few years ago. But, I have to say, the words have a new relevance and meaning as I've gained more life experience, and, in particular, while I have taken this course in "Telling Stories."

What makes a good story? What if your own truth is not that interesting. Is it ok to add or remove details to make it more dynamic and gripping for your readers or viewers? At what point does it cease being your story, and how do you even know what is truth? I guess you don't. You have to take the writer at their word.