Tell your story

Today on the spring equinox, March 20, 2023, is World Storytelling Day. It's a recently established holiday celebrating the ocacular tradition of storytelling.

I don't think we do that much anymore. Sure, we have holidays and outing when a group of people will sit around the campfire and tell stories, but that's not an everyday part of our modern lives.

Today, we read books. We read posts on various social media platforms. We use the written word more than our tongues to tell stories.

Some people entertain the idea of writing a story, more entertain the idea of having written a story. The latter generally aren't writers. They are people whose imaginations are sparked by ideas that strike them as interesting, engaging, and worth exploration. These people then sort themselves into three general categories:

1. Those who write their stories
2. Those who hire ghostwriters
3. Those who do nothing with their ideas.

Not being writers, those who write their stories generally underestimate the time, skill, and effort required to produce a document worthy of public consumption. They learn that the brilliant ideas in their minds don't translate well to the written form—or, at least, they don't have the skill to adequately translate those ideas to the written form.

In some ways, writing and developing a story is akin to capturing a dream. The dream (or idea) fades even as we scribble down the highlights. Then we're lost when it comes to following the dream sequence and making even the most fantastic and improbable things make sense without turning prosaic.

These people often encounter and are surprised by a gap between the brilliance of their ideas and the inadequacy of their prose. People who have never before attempted to write a novel entertain unrealistic ambitions and suffer disappointment when their manuscripts fail to live up to their lofty expectations.

Let's not forget that writing is first and foremost a craft. The mundane, everyday writing most people do does not match the craftsmanship of someone who builds a career as a writer. Those who build such careers understand the difference between different types of writing. A technical writer, a copy writer, and a novelist write differently and for separate purposes.

Craftsmanship requires practice—lots of practice—and critique. No one becomes a master of any craft working in isolation without outside influence or assistance.

There's a difference between everyday writing for business and personal needs and the skill required to develop an idea into a great story. No adult who built a bird house in high school would consider himself or herself an expert carpenter. No one who has done little more than scramble eggs and pop some slices of bread in the toaster would call oneself a chef.

Should someone who has not mastered the craft of writing adopt the label of writer or author? Many try.

I help these aspiring writers. Some of them have exceedingly rough first drafts—those scribbled wisps of dreams—that I develop into engaging stories with characters in whom readers can be come emotionally invested. Some of them manage to work through the process of developing their stories and produce fully developed stories. As an editor, I help them refine their work.

I also help the second category of storytellers who hire ghostwriters to develop their ideas. These clients recognize their writing skills lack that certain quality necessary for the engagement of the intended audience's attention. Or perhaps they have neither the time nor the inclination to dedicate the time and effort required to producing a well written story. As a ghostwriter, I bring their stories to life.

The third category of people keep their ideas private. Perhaps they speak of their story ideas to others, but dismiss them as frivolous or not worth developing. Do they chew on those ideas as private entertainment? Who knows? Regardless, they have no intention of bringing their ideas to the public and, therefore, need no help in developing them. I respect that, because I understand it. Some things, like playing the harp or guitar, I may fantasize about doing but never intend to pursue.

If you have an idea for a story and you want to see that idea developed and brought to life, you have two choices: write the story yourself or hire someone to write it. Either way, you'll need the kind of help I can provide. Let's talk about your story and what you need to bring it to life.

Every word counts.

#henhousepublishing #storytelling #fictionwriting #editingservices #ghostwriting