We are storytellers.

by

a mid-story misfit.

a mid-story misfit.

 

Sometimes I forget who I am.

It’s not (fingerquote) a mom-thing (unFQ)  as I loathe when women denigrate other women by implying their lives are easy by virtue of the fact they have no children.

It’s a human thing.

We’re all so busy being super, nailing deadlines and crossing stuffs off our to-do lists who has time to focus on self-definitions?

Until a few weeks ago Id have happily said: Im a blogger.

Until a few weeks ago, that is, when I was gifted a chat with one of my favorite people.

She used in reference to me a phrase it had been far too long since Id used to describe myself:

she called me a storyteller.

shauna reminded me Im a teller of stories.

As I mulled her words for the rest of my day I paid close attention to the stories I long to tell.

  • The Tornado smearing thick, sticky slashes of white nail polish on her fingers so they could be “fancy like Mama’s feet.” 

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  • A man clad head-to-toe in gold, riding a spray-painted gold bike (gold balloons tied to handlebars), wearing a gold helmet, biking down sidewalk and realizing no one gave him a second glance but me.

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  • Feelings of being awkward & alone as I waited for school release and no mothers responded to my myriad attempts at conversation.

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These are the stories Im called to share because they’re about me and they’re about you.

Blogging is storytelling because creating relationships—even in social media—is about the story.

A reader once shared she’d thought Id lost my sparkle (<—-her word. I’d have used the world GLITTER).

The reason behind said sparkle-shedding, according to her, was too many brand partnerships.

I took her words to heart.

I reread branded posts and challenged myself as to *why* I agreed to them.

It was always all about the story. It was always the result of a phone call which made me shout YES!!  It was always about longing to share my history on a topic and the sponsor was merely the launching pad for my storytelling.

I also considered partnerships I declined.

There was never anything “wrong” with the company—it was because I had no story to share.

No moment of this fits perfectly because… or I need to talk about you because the story there helps me better share my story in the process.

Storytelling…blogging…is about entertainment, normalizing life experiences & stories.

I shared the story of my move and you normalized for me

I shared the story of my move. You normalized.

All of these disjointed realizations coalesced when Shauna said:

You are a storyteller.  Whatever topic you choose—fitness, motherhood etc—you are a teller of stories.

I am a storyteller who’s currently using the medium of blogging to weave her tales. 

egg beaters

with me there’s *always* a story…

 

Unlike fiction—where I create a world & stand firmly on the outside—I play a central character & share my stories in an effort to find my way within a larger, social media world.

I believe we’re all called to be the superheroes of our own own journeys & work through our stories in order to make sense of our lives.

And you?

  • Do you view blog-reading as storied entertainment?
  • Are you a blogger who’s a sharer of stories rather than conveyer of information?
  • Do you think bloggers lose their SPARKLE when they blog about anything *but* their tales?

 

 

 

 

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Comments

  1. Blog reading definitely is a form of entertainment for me. Sometimes (most of the time) I’d rather read blogs than watch a movie or a tv show. I think bloggers can lose their sparkle for a number of reasons: 1. things going on in their too personal for blog sharing life, 2. feeling overwhelmed with keeping up with the blog, 3. letting something (like product reviews) get in the way of what they truly want to convey on their blog! I think you are sparkling all day and night right now 😉

  2. Teller of stories….I like that.

    I know I’ve lost my blog sparkle lately….mainly because my tales are too personal to tell. I have no filter personally but respect the privacy of those around me too much to tell their stories….no matter how funny or thought provoking they may be. 😉

  3. Yes! Entertainment and storytelling for sure! And sharing and connecting through life experiences. When a product is a perfect match, there’s plenty of room to sparkle!

  4. I start reading blogs for many different reasons. Once I get to “know” a blogger, I usually read whatever they write to keep up to date with what is going on with them — I guess I want to read the next page in their stories.

  5. For me, there’s something about blogging that brings together so many kindred spirits sharing their experiences. Everybody has their own distinct story and I love how we can all weave it into this patchwork quilt that keeps us together – inspired and better off for knowing each other.

  7. I’d say my blog is 40% storytelling and 60% informative. Two posts a week I update people on my life/workouts and 3 posts I try to write as ‘articles’ and not blogs. Seems to be a winning combination for me!

  10. You are a Great storyteller! I hadn’t thought of blogging that way – I do love to tell stories. I used to make up a story every night to tell my son when he went to sleep. It was called Pez Park. I described playing on a playground where the sandbox was full of Pez and you’d slide into the Pez. Then, at the end of the play time, you’d eat up lots of Pez like Cookie Monster – and of course make all the appropriate sounds. I think I need to revise that tradition.

  12. Hmmmmm. This is quite thought provoking for me. I’m a blogger. I identify with that. I don’t think mixing in information or sponsored stuff negates what I do in any way, but I do think I’ve taken a lot of my story out of my blog. Hmmmmm.

  13. I agree with you and sometimes agree with readers, but sometimes we do want to share why we love a product. As long as there is passion behind a post – we can share products we LOVE!

  15. I am a blogger and a blog reader and I do like it mostly for entertainment purposes but I also think there is nothing wrong with conveying information. There is a time and a place for everything!

  16. A storyteller will always tell stories regardless of what the central characters of the story will be, and everyone has the decision whether to pick up that “book” or not based on personal taste. Do what feels right to you.

  17. I love this post! I needed to hear this! I have been a little worried about my posts this week because they have nothing to do about running. Instead I am focusing on the weekend with my family and grandmother’s funeral. I was a little afraid my readers wouldn’t want to hear about that since it has nothing to do with running…but it’s what I wanted to write so I wrote it. Thanks for this! It has made me feel better because yes I do think bloggers are storytellers! 🙂

  18. I LOVED THIS but the funny thins is that I always viewed your posts as storytelling. I may not have realized that till you put it to words but to me, your posts always weave a story – they pull me in like a book or movie… maybe you did not know that till Shauna said it but from the outside looking in, that is what I always read here – a story.

    Me, just throwing out info. I wish I was a storyteller but I am not a write & I get that – I am just a blabber & do my best…

    Do you think bloggers lose their SPARKLE when they blog about anything *but* their tales?

    On the above question , for me, no… if it interests me & a enjoy or learn or just want to read, I am fine. 🙂

  20. I love blogs, and yours is awesome! Its so great to hear how someone else handles their challenges, and gains positive results (in a storytelling format in which I love cause its such easy reading).
    Plus peoples comments sure do add to the “oh I never thought of that”. Its such good quality information I can relate to and apply to my family and friends 🙂

  21. I think that we all lose our sparkle once in a while. We question why we do this blogging thing and if we should keep on with it. Regardless we will always have stories to tell and share with anyone who wants to read them.

  22. I think that your story-telling talents are why we all come back and read your blog again and again and again!
    The thing I love about your stories are the invitations you provide for us to share our stories too!

  25. I DO think bloggers lose their sparkle IF they are no longer being themselves. I have definitely been turned off of my fave blogs by product reviews because I feel like they are just doing something because they have to.
    My blog is all over the place – fitness – mommy stuff – performing – sewing – and my most popular posts are the ones that I just have to ‘get out’ of my head,m regardless of whether they fit any sort of ‘theme’, so that inspires me to just be ME. And then I remember why I started blogging…to have an adult conversation, even if it’s just with myself.
    I read blogs become like magazines to me – and sometimes you browse a magazine you wouldn’t normally in the doctors’ office for different content – and sometimes you find your fave magazines are completely filled with advertisements, and you stop sifting through to find the content.
    My $.02!!

  26. I think most of us bloggers started out as something else and became storytellers along the way. Recently I heard someone say that storytelling is the newest media currency, so go be a storyteller my friend!

  27. I wander back and forth between facts and stories and plain old babbling. I love when people are themselves, sharing their views and their thoughts. Hearing their opinions and ideas help me see things differently. I like being allowed to share in other’s lives. If I feel like I’m being pandered to or sold to I tend to wander off…
    But I must say – thank you sincerely for the comment about how just because you don’t have kids it doesn’t mean you’re not busy/committed/working hard at life. My life is insane at times, and I am in awe of those who dive into the same insanity with children in tow as well. Hats off to you. Lately I have gotten comments at work about it, and had to argue for some family time, since my “family” is just us 2…so it’s nice to hear the other side 🙂

  28. I agree about blogs being about storytelling. I think there a lot of ways to do that as everyone has their own voice and I think that’s what makes reading blogs so popular. It’s a look into the lives of people we don’t know. It’s like reading a good book, you always wonder what they are up to next.

  29. I’ve been reading blogs, and online with my own, for nearly 5 years now. The ones I read regularly (but sadly, don’t comment on as much) tend to be more personal. All seem to be lower on the product placements, but most have some, and that’s okay, because their enthusiasm for things they like is genuine, and they’re not afraid to own up to not liking a product.

    You know, this post made me realize that in my work writing & training, the “story” of the product engages people much more effectively. So I guess my challenge is to make the stories a little more “sparkly” while still keeping it professional.

  30. I love the way you tell a story – even though it is a story, I often leave here feeling like I’ve learned something that could help me.
    I love the fact that over the past few months, I actually feel like I know you even though we have never met in person.
    There hasn’t been a single time that I have read your blog and thought you had lost your glitter – you always shine!!

  31. I view blogs as stories & entertainment rather than info unless it’s recipes. I can google for facts =). Sometimes you need to share some information to better present your story but I think that’s a way to mean (or a mean to a way?). =)

  32. Oh, yes. I read blogs to have a smile, a chuckle or nod my head in agreement. Everyone keeps telling me I should be informative. I just don’t buy that… not completely. I don’t think I know any more than anyone else. I can only share my story, my experiences, my goofy life. You are a great storyteller.

  33. Mine started mostly as an online journal of my weight loss and what I ate. It gradually morphed into just what I do and and how I enjoy life, with an occasional rant thrown in there. It can be terribly boring to some, I am sure, but I blog mostly for myself and my life isn’t always exciting 😀

    Honestly – I usually will skip product review posts (I do them occasionally myself) unless it is something I am super interested in. Products tend to run on blogs, so you see the same product/book reviewed on multiple blogs in a short time span.

  34. I want to be a storyteller when I grow up, and I do work with brands but what I try to do is share my story with the product and so keep it real. But I am not popular enough to run into this problem. When I do, I will consider it a highly qualitative one, one aspire to have soon. And in the meantime, I hope to continue telling the stories that make me who I am.

  37. I enjoy blogs where I can get a sense of the blogger’s personality. That does usually mean bloggers who tell stories – share their experiences, thoughts and opinions.

    I feel like I write my best posts when I just let it flow, and don’t worry about meeting any particular expectations. I guess I’m all about keeping it real. 🙂

  38. I definitely think some bloggers are better story tellers than others…you are quite good at it and I think that’s what draws so many back time and again. I am sometimes stuck in my typical journalist’s rut of spitting out the facts and not being much of a storyteller–wish it came more naturally to me!

  39. Reading and writing blogs is definitely storytelling and I really like that spin on it. I write for a nutritional blog that is more informative than for storytelling, so it is a different context.

  40. I love the idea of being a story teller. I prefer stories to info…usually. And I blog for me. If folks enjoy reading my stories and seeing my personality through my photos and words…great. If not, so be it, but it gives me a creative outlet that I don’t have in my workdays. I also don’t think I’m particularly an expert on anything other than my own life. And I enjoy the stories of others too. Have a great day Carla.

  41. I don’t talk much about my life on my blog… That sh**’s boring – AHH HA HA HA! I like to talk about Ice Cream, Crackers, Britney Spears, Leeks and Kale’s lives instead!! 😉

  42. I’ve always equated blogging to memoirs, but blogging is more like a virtual in the now memoir while memoirs are often written years later reflecting back on life and putting the pieces of life together to form a story. A blog on the other hand is caught up right there in the moment and can’t tell that this moment right now might relate to something that happened five years ago. But that is the beauty of it. Blogging is sharing your life. I enjoy reading blogs about people’s lives and having some form of humanity in it than reading informational blogs unless it is something useful I may need to know. I’ve been trying go think of the words to describe how writing isn’t just for yourself, but it is for your reader as well so they can relate. I think you hit it dead on with the phrase normalizing life experiences.

  43. I like this… it made me realize that I’m gone through several phases of ‘identity’ with my blog- starting as just a story teller, than incorporating more informative material and losing a bit of story telling, and finally back around to combining both. I want to share helpful info but need to tie my story in to keep it real (and to keep my heart in it).

  44. I think it is what your goals are as well.
    If you want to make a blog a career you need to do more than tell stories.

  46. I would say I’m more storyteller than information giver. At times I feel like I have less to offer because I don’t have as much information but this has validated…I’m entertaining…weaving stories…playing hero of this crazy journey!!

  47. I do write blog posts that are more informative, but I find storytelling more entertaining. The blogs I look forward to visiting are those where I know I’ll find a story or interesting tidbits from their personal life. I do think bloggers sometimes lose their sparkle if no stories are every incorporated.

  48. I hope that I am a storyteller, even when I’m giving information. I do think it is possible. I think a blogger needs to stay true to themselves or they will lose their sparkle. If you write about things that you really love and use, it will show through, just as the opposite is true. You were lucky that your reader took the time to tell you what she thought. And you were wise to take constructive criticism and grow from it.

  49. I was reading blogs for entertainment long before I started my own blog. I think at one point I had lost my spark, but I now try to weave whatever I write into a story of some sort.

  51. I’ve tried to keep my blog true to me – that means not accepting guest posts (from strangers – my family is different)(oh, they’re different, all right!)(but I digress), not taking ads from companies whose products I don’t endorse, and not jumping on whatever blogging bandwagon (WIAW, TTT, etc) that happens to be in vogue at the moment. I write my stories – which I’m sure can be boring at times, but I’m writing for myself, first. I just happen to be lucky that people like to read it, too.

  53. I write what I feel and share what I experience. Also, I speak to the things I want to adventure in which include the many things I may discover along the way.

    If there’s something I love, I will write about it. It’s my story to share.

    The endings are ever-changing as I’m continuously evolving.

  55. I try to lean more towards the storytelling, mostly because that’s what I enjoy reading. Even my reviews and giveaways seem to be more about how I use the product than about that actual product LOL.

  56. I’ve always called myself a writer, because, like you, I write for a variety of publications, print & online. Way too many years ago, I had the pleasure of entering my grandfather’s handwritten life story into his computer. I would always get so wrapped up in reading his notes that I stopped typing. Then I realized that he was a storyteller, and that he told stories the way I tried to tell stories. Ever since then, it’s been my goal to engage my readers in the same way.

  57. Almost all of my writing is story-telling in some form or another. Even when I’m oosting a nugget of information, I have to share my reaction/perception/opinion/whatever, or ask readers to help explain it to me, for it to be worth posting.

  58. Oh how I love this post Carla. I’ve been struggling with this but for me too, it’s always come back to the stories. And I realized that that’s what I loved about blogging – being able to share not only my stories but the stories of others (and to encourage others to tell their own tories too). Many of the blogs that I follow regularly are because I want to know what’s going on in their lives and in their stories.

  59. I do feel bloggers are storytellers. And I am really growing to appreciate the blogging community. I would love to meet the bloggers I regularly follow because I feel like if we lived in the same town we’d be pals. I think we’re all pretty damn sparkly. 🙂
    Gaye

  60. I’d say my blog is 50/50 really – I like to blog about the tales of my life but also provide information too 🙂

  62. Great blog post! I think that telling stories about your life helps readers relate to you. Or they are inspired by you which helps motivate them.

  64. You are someone who tells a story but in almost every post, you make your reader think, that’s what keeps me drooling over your blog. As a mother I’m not asked to think very much, I am asked to “do” do this, do that, I need this, I need that. I long to ponder questions… your blog is very unique that way. My blog is a place for me to share my feelings, my musing and to connect with others who may feel similar to me. When I write a sponsored post, I try to do my best work, and keep it real. I try not to take on too much stuff, one major reason is, I barely have enough time to write my own stuff let alone someone else’s. I do consider myself a story teller.. I have a vivd imagination and everyone has a story to be told.. it feels amazing to put those stories down on paper.. or the internet.

  65. I read blogs for entertainment, to learn something and because I’m interested in the lives of others in preferably other countries.

    I’m not a story teller. I might be when my blog was written in Dutch, my native language, but since it’s in English and that’s not my native, it is sometimes hard enough to write correct.

    I don’t do guest posts, I don’t do product reviews (I have to say that that isn’t big here in Holland, I have never been asked to review something by a Dutch company). My blog is about me and I share my weight loss and running journey and tell about my country and where I live.

  66. You are a teller of stories Carla!

    Karen Anderson recently commented on a post in my Debbish blog, saying that I ‘told a good story’. I realised that was exactly what I’d done. I’m not sure I always do though.

    I’m currently struggling with my two blogs and trying to decide whether to combine them and if that’s even possible. Debbish languishes and is barely read, but I’m not sure Diet Schmiet readers would be interested in the blithery prose I put in Debbish. Sigh…

    Deb

  67. Ah I hope I’m a storyteller! Some days I think I’ve lost my sparkle but I don’t think it’s anything to do with branding… more just life pulling me in too many directions. At any rate, I read you – always have – for the stories. And the most vivid one from this post, imo, is the (picture unavailable). So poignant and so true for so many of us. 🙂

  68. You definitely seem to be a good storyteller. Storytelling is like the earliest form of entertainment and ties us to our ancestors sitting around the fire and the ancient Greeks and other civilizations. Keep it up!

Trackbacks

  1. […] We are storytellers Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about blogging – the purpose of blogging, why I blog, and where I fit in as a blogger. The thing that I’m continually drawn to are stories – those that I read and those I share. Is that the role of bloggers? To be storytellers? […]

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