# Everyone has a story in them



## The Backward OX (Jan 18, 2012)

It’s been said many times, everyone has a story in them. Someone on this site disagreed, but that’s not what this is about. What this is about is that we need to see quite a few more of those stories, fictionalised for preference, posted on this site.


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## candid petunia (Jan 18, 2012)

Hmm. You've given me something to think about...

Wait, I just realised, I've written my 'stories'.  There will be more too, I'm sure.


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## Mystery (Jan 18, 2012)

The problem with sharing a story is that more often than not, people aren't interested in your story, they are interested in an entertaining story.


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## The Backward OX (Jan 18, 2012)

Why do you think I threw in the adjective "fictionalised"? For that matter, what prompted me to create the thread? I'll tell you: a story based on personal experience, posted here and appropriately fictionalised, is presently drawing favourable comments. And I'm not Robinson Crusoe. I repeat, everyone has something to tell that can be worked up into entertainment.


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## MaggieMoo (Jan 18, 2012)

The Backward OX said:


> It’s been said many times, everyone has a story in them. Someone on this site disagreed, but that’s not what this is about. What this is about is that we need to see quite a few more of those stories, fictionalised for preference, posted on this site.



You are absolutely correct sir.  Most of my stories are depressingly horrible; whilst adding fiction and a just a small amount of sarcastic humour to them, has made an amazing effect.  Even my worst critique, (Myelf!) is finally impressed with the finishing touches.


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## philistine (Jan 18, 2012)

I'll post some, as I have quite a few. Just say the word!


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## The Backward OX (Jan 18, 2012)

Am I my brother's keeper?


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## Robdemanc (Jan 19, 2012)

I had a good one that I wrote years ago about a real experience.  It wasn't fictionalised though and I lost it when my PC broke.


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## shadowwalker (Jan 19, 2012)

I've always thought that was the gift of the writer - to make the ordinary, extraordinary...


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## garza (Jan 19, 2012)

xO - Point us to the example to which you refer so we may draw inspiration therefrom.


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## The Backward OX (Jan 19, 2012)

Aw, shucks. Me and my big mouth. I’d feel self-conscious, doing that. Better it be found fortuitously.


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## SeverinR (Jan 19, 2012)

Everyone has a story in them, but I also believe almost everything can be made interesting if done right.


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## luckyscars (Jan 19, 2012)

everyone absolutely has a story in them. in fact, i'll go one further. i'd say everyone has a bestselling novel in them, the kind of story that could easily be among the greatest works ever written. the problem is that not everybody is capable of telling their story, and fewer still are capable of telling it well. that is both a tragedy and a blessing. the tragedy is that the greatest books will probably never be written, the blessing is that it means those that are written are actually read.


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## Terry D (Jan 19, 2012)

I had a story in me when I was young.  When I was thirteen years old my parents had it surgically removed leaving a terrible scar on my imagination.  Now it floats in a dusty jar of formaldehyde on my bookshelf serving as a one of a pair of bookends for my collection of horror anthologies.  In the jar at the other end is my sense of humor.


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## garza (Jan 19, 2012)

xO - I've searched all the fiction boards and can't find your example. When did you post it?


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## luckyscars (Jan 20, 2012)

The Backward OX said:


> Why do you think I threw in the adjective "fictionalised"? For that matter, what prompted me to create the thread? I'll tell you: a story based on personal experience, posted here and appropriately fictionalised, is presently drawing favourable comments. And I'm not Robinson Crusoe. I repeat, everyone has something to tell that can be worked up into entertainment.



i don't think robinson crusoe ever wrote a book. if you mean daniel defoe, as far as i know the closest defoe ever got to a desert island was trading wine in lisbon...

a much better example of an entertaining, fictionalized account of actual experience (i.e the roman a clef) would be a gonzo journalist such as hunter s thompson or p.j o'rourke.


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## The Backward OX (Jan 20, 2012)

luckyscars said:


> i don't think robinson crusoe ever wrote a book.


Robinson Crusoe was alone (on his island). I’m _not_ alone, when I say I have a story in me; others do too. So I’m _not_ Robinson Crusoe, geddit?

Of course, I’d forgotten. Americans aren’t famous for subtlety.


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## luckyscars (Jan 20, 2012)

Crusoe had Man Friday, not to mention two cats, one dog and a talking parrot. then there were the cannibal hordes. sounds like plenty enough companionship to me


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## garza (Jan 20, 2012)

I can't write anything that is not based on personal experience. If there's a story of any value in there somewhere, hopefully it will be pushed out at some time. Meantime I remember to squeeze from the bottom of the tube as I was taught.


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## Aderyn (Jan 23, 2012)

Terry D said:


> I had a story in me when I was young.  When I was thirteen years old my parents had it surgically removed leaving a terrible scar on my imagination.  Now it floats in a dusty jar of formaldehyde on my bookshelf serving as a one of a pair of bookends for my collection of horror anthologies.  In the jar at the other end is my sense of humor.



LMAO!



The Backward OX said:


> Robinson Crusoe was alone (on his island). I’m _not_ alone, when I say I have a story in me; others do too. So I’m _not_ Robinson Crusoe, geddit?
> 
> Of course, I’d forgotten. Americans aren’t famous for subtlety.



Maybe you should have said 'I'm not on my Pat Malone...' 

Yes, everyone has stories, it's called gossip!  I just spent the weekend with a friend who is the best gossip. Every time we have a good old chin wag I wish I could take notes.  Real life gossip is so intriguing!


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## philistine (Jan 23, 2012)

luckyscars said:


> i don't think robinson crusoe ever wrote a book. if you mean daniel defoe, as far as i know the closest defoe ever got to a desert island was trading wine in lisbon...
> 
> a much better example of an entertaining, fictionalized account of actual experience (i.e the roman a clef) would be a gonzo journalist such as hunter s thompson or p.j o'rourke.



Casanova's _Histoire de ma Vie_, surely. It starts off somewhat dry, though the old master really gets going.


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## luckyscars (Jan 23, 2012)

The Backward OX said:


> Of course, I’d forgotten. Americans aren’t famous for subtlety.



and australians are?

p.s i'm not american.


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## luckyscars (Jan 23, 2012)

philistine said:


> Casanova's _Histoire de ma Vie_, surely. It starts off somewhat dry, though the old master really gets going.



yeah, i haven't read it but from what i know about the text it would be a good example. so would proust's 'a memory of lost time'. so would many of the beat writers.


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## Mystery (Jan 24, 2012)

The Backward OX said:


> Why do you think I threw in the adjective "fictionalised"? For that matter, what prompted me to create the thread? I'll tell you: a story based on personal experience, posted here and appropriately fictionalised, is presently drawing favourable comments. And I'm not Robinson Crusoe. I repeat, everyone has something to tell that can be worked up into entertainment.


You are using a WRITING forum, built by and for WRITERS(people who enjoy reading and writing habitually), where nothing is paid for and costs anything more than your time of the day(when and if you want to give it) as a basis for that judgement?

No, more often than not, people are not interested in whatever story you have to tell, regardless of how you tell it.

I'n not trying to argue, I'm just saying, there is a reason why people need to be perpetually reminded that everyone has a story.


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## The Backward OX (Jan 24, 2012)

Mystery said:


> You are using a WRITING forum, built by and for WRITERS(people who enjoy reading and writing habitually), where nothing is paid for and costs anything nothing more than your time of the day(when and if you want to give it) as a basis for that judgement?


So you’re saying that when someone here puts on their reader's hat, they're less discerning than the denizens of the local library or bookstore?

I prefer to read quality writing here, just as I would elsewhere. I may not always find it, but that’s what I prefer. And as a consequence, there's a lot of stuff here that I don't read.


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## Mystery (Jan 25, 2012)

The Backward OX said:


> So you’re saying that when someone here puts on their reader's hat, they're less discerning than the denizens of the local library or bookstore?
> 
> I prefer to read quality writing here, just as I would elsewhere. I may not always find it, but that’s what I prefer. And as a consequence, there's a lot of stuff here that I don't read.


I'm saying people who want to write are interested in stories a lot more than your average joe, especially when there is more than the payment of time involved.


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## Capulet (Jan 25, 2012)

I do think everyone has a story, because everyone is taking their unique path through life. Whether they can write it in a manner that hooks an audience is the question. I've had friends tell me about how yummy the hot dog they ate last was, and I was completely engaged; my cousin told me about her tour of duty in Afghanistan and I was pretty bored out of my mind.

I think writers are more interested in stories, but more critical of delivery methods as well. My friends and I go see movies and come out with wildly different opinions because I'll get mad if a movie followed the tired hollywood formulas without offering _anything _new to the genre, and they'll be happy because their expectations were met.

But, being only human, my base emotions will from time to time defeat my critical eye. Every time a movie's about to start on TV and the warning comes up "This movie contains, explicit language, violence, and sexual content; viewer discretion is advised", I whisper "Awesome, the trifecta."


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## Cirrocumulus (Jan 27, 2012)

There's an interesting and insightful essay by Aldous Huxley which I read some years ago, I think it may be called _Sincecity in Art_ or something similar. In exploring the question of what makes writing successful, he tells of having read notes written by people at intense moments when one would expect that they'd be at their most sincere, and inspired by the strongest of emotions: notes left by suicide victims, & court testimonies to defend one's own life or that of a loved one, for example. As sincere, authentic, and intensely needing to express themselves as these people were, Huxley judged their writings to be ordinary, full of cliches, and unsuccessful. Therefore, he concluded, it's not just the person's sincerity, or having something to say that's necessary for successful writing. He argues that psychological understanding and the ability to express this are also essential. 

Similar thoughts have previously been referred to on this thread. Everyone has something to say; that's not the problem.

Patrick White quotes Olive Schreiner on the title page of Pt. 1 of _The Aunt's Story_ : 

_She thought of the narrowness of the limits within which a human soul may speak and be understood by its nearest of mental kin, of how soon it reaches that solitary land of the individual experience, in which no fellow footfall is ever heard._

Virginia Woolf speaks in _Mr Bennet and Mrs Brown_ of the "appalling effort" of expressing oneself within these narrow limits, which also gives insight into how she saw the writer's (/artist's) challenge :

_...the appalling effort of saying what I meant. And to have got at what I meant I should have had to go back and back and back; to experiment with one thing and another; to try this sentence and that, referring each word to my vision, matching it as exactly as possible...  

_--p. 105, Mr Bennet and Mrs Brown, by Virginia Woolf


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## Rustgold (Jan 27, 2012)

luckyscars said:


> and australians are?



There's a saying about me regarding subtlety and bricks, but I might use it at some time.  Anyway, I have to plead guilty for turning the brick green & gold.




Capulet said:


> I do think everyone has a story, because everyone is taking their unique path through life.



I disagree, unless you're including life stories not fit for fish & chip wrapping.  Not everybody is created equal.  Some people are nothing, will never be anything; and no amount of sparkling glitter can possibly make them into anything.


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## shadowwalker (Jan 27, 2012)

Rustgold said:


> I disagree, unless you're including life stories not fit for fish & chip wrapping.  Not everybody is created equal.  Some people are nothing, will never be anything; and no amount of sparkling glitter can possibly make them into anything.



I'm not sure about that. I think every human being has had at least one thing they've done or experienced that could make a story. There is a story in even the most mundane life, because no two people will experience it in the same way. And that's what makes it unique and interesting.


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## Jon M (Jan 27, 2012)

Rustgold said:


> Not everybody is created equal.  Some people are nothing, will never be anything; and no amount of sparkling glitter can possibly make them into anything.


This reminds me of some of the amateur photographers I've met over the years. They would whine and whine about the lack of beautiful things to take pictures of in their part of the world. God, they'd say, huffing and puffing. _If only_ I could go to (insert exotic locale here)! My pictures would be so beautiful then!

Random fact: Irving Penn took some of the most spectacular photographs of .... wait for it, _wait for it_ ....

Trash.


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## Cirrocumulus (Jan 27, 2012)

I used to be an amateur photographer too. Faced with the same problem, I found plenty of beauty in tiny things and abstract close-ups, using extension tubes on my lense.


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## shadowwalker (Jan 27, 2012)

johnM said:


> This reminds me of some of the amateur photographers I've met over the years. They would whine and whine about the lack of beautiful things to take pictures of in their part of the world. God, they'd say, huffing and puffing. _If only_ I could go to (insert exotic locale here)! My pictures would be so beautiful then!
> 
> Random fact: Irving Penn took some of the most spectacular photographs of .... wait for it, _wait for it_ ....
> 
> Trash.





Cirrocumulus said:


> I used to be an amateur photographer too. Faced with the same problem, I found plenty of beauty in tiny things and abstract close-ups, using extension tubes on my lense.



These are great analogies. Anyone can look at a piece of scenery, a person, a life, and see nothing of value/interest. A good writer can look closer and see the tiny details that make it intriguing.


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## Capulet (Jan 27, 2012)

Rustgold said:


> I disagree, unless you're including life stories not fit for fish & chip wrapping. Not everybody is created equal. Some people are nothing, will never be anything; and no amount of sparkling glitter can possibly make them into anything.



Wow, someone that went through life and never managed to accomplish anything? Someone who is so hopeless, that no matter how hard you try to dress them up, they're still utterly devoid of worth?

Now that sounds like an interesting read.


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## Arctic Ice (Jan 27, 2012)

The great part about characters is the flavor they can add to even the most boring story. It doesn't replace having a killer story _and _killer characters, but good characters can make a poor story entertaining, at the least. Anyone can be a writer; it's a skill you learn, not something genetic that only some people have. How could anyone get better if they never tried?


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## shadowwalker (Jan 27, 2012)

Arctic Ice said:


> Anyone can be a writer; it's a skill you learn, not something genetic that only some people have. How could anyone get better if they never tried?



I'm not sure I'd totally agree with that. I think there is some inherent talent; just like some people can't carry a tune in a bucket, some people are totally clueless about story-telling. That doesn't mean people with that inherent talent don't have to work to improve - far from it - but there are people, no matter how much they write, how much they study, who will never be able to write a readable book.


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## Arctic Ice (Jan 27, 2012)

shadowwalker said:


> I'm not sure I'd totally agree with that. I think there is some inherent talent; just like some people can't carry a tune in a bucket, some people are totally clueless about story-telling. That doesn't mean people with that inherent talent don't have to work to improve - far from it - but there are people, no matter how much they write, how much they study, who will never be able to write a readable book.


Those people who can't are the ones who don't care enough to fail a few times at it. Nobody is a prodigy overnight - it takes time, effort, and a modicum of humility to learn the skills necessary. Lots of reading, as well. Anyone can do it, but, to qualify my previous statement, not everyone wants to jump all those hurdles. I don't blame anyone for that - I often feel the same way. I'm still a novice and I have a long way to go, and a pile of books still to read.


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## shadowwalker (Jan 27, 2012)

Arctic Ice said:


> Anyone can do it



We'll just have to agree to disagree on that, then. :wink:


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## Arctic Ice (Jan 27, 2012)

Hey - I think I could be a marine biologist, but do I really care enough to go through all those years of schooling and study for it? Probably not, since I'd rather learn to write well. :icon_compress: So you're probably right - but I do stand by my point (which I think is basically the same as yours, just with a bunch of uncertainty mixed in to it).


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