Caretakers Of Stories

Writing non-fiction and fiction for nearly thirty years hadn’t prepared me for the eager response that I received when I began offering writing workshops. In my first workshop in a small town in northern Wisconsin, a wide-range of people attended, who wanted to write poetry, fiction, historical non-fiction, devotions, family histories, and memoirs.

In a recent workshop, participants brought similar writing interests, as well as comedy and screenplays. As each workshop begins, I sense the excitement in the room, but there is another feeling as well—fear.

I am talking about the inner voice that pops up when we finally sit down with paper and pen or in front of the computer. This is the voice that whispers, “Who are you kidding? You’re not a writer. Nobody will want to read what you write.”

In the workshop last summer, one nervous participant confessed to being nearly paralyzed whenever she thought of writing. She said she felt she didn’t even belong in the room.

Others in the group offered supportive and encouraging comments, but nothing seemed to calm her fears. She added that she’d always struggled with grammar in particular and felt certain that she wouldn’t share anything with the group. She hoped the group wouldn’t mind if she just sat quietly and listened.

I feared that she might be so overcome with self-doubt that she’d leave the room, but then someone pointed out that each of us is a caretaker of stories, stories that only we know. If we do not find a way to share those stories, those stories will never be told.

The woman’s face changed in a second, from fear to a smile of surprise. Yes, she confessed, that was true of her. She was a grandmother and even a great-grandmother, and she carried stories within her—some funny, some sad—that her grandchildren and great-grandchildren would never know about unless she wrote them down.

I am indebted to this woman not just for her honesty but also for revealing the antidote to the negative inner voice that haunts most writers. In every workshop that I offer, I now begin by sharing that all of us are caretakers of stories, be they fiction or non-fiction, that only we know.

Of course, writing is not the only way the stories that we carry within us can be expressed. Some people paint, while others compose music, make a film, do standup comedy, sculpt, or tell their stories orally to their family members. Those stories can be shared in a letter to one person, can be told to a passel of grandkids on the porch, or can be shared with a huge audience.

The fear that our grammar and style are insurmountable problems is false. Yes, it will take work, but both grammar and style are skills that can be improved with practice and guidance.

What if we ignored the nagging negative voices that seek to discourage us? Today might be the day when the stories and story ideas that we carry within us finally begin to be released. For if we aren’t meant to share those stories, why have they been given to us?