The idea of little stories in everyday life can be a great resource for starting a larger story, a scene, or just remind or inspire us of our own experiences that we can take down the road for story.
Take this short scenario of one of the summer meal sites here in Converse (San Antonio metro area). Many of the kids were at the Converse City Library for an event called “Touch A Truck.” Every kind of truck you could imagine was there for them to crawl around and explore. Afterward, most of them migrated to our “Bus-n-Meal” food bus.
While most were getting a plate of food without thinking about dropping it, the job was more intense than that for one little girl. That was her mission for this moment after she was prompted by her mom.
Her intent eyes and outstretched hands tell a story of excitement and concentration, which turned to accomplishment.
Taking bits of real life, nature, music, or images like this can be the seed of a story…bits that God opens our eyes to for meaningful writing.
What we see each day could be the seed for a short story, flash fiction…or just part of a scene in a larger story that helps link chunks of a narrative together cohesively.
As a reporter, I used to be more observant, taking in some of the more subtle aspects of what I saw and heard as I gathered a story to check out further their legitimacy to construct a more balanced and relevant story.
But since I left that profession, I think I’ve gotten a little lax in my skills of observation. Now I’m trying to sharpen them again but in a different way, for building different kinds of stories.
What we see each day could be the seed for a short story, flash fiction, a “big idea” for a full-blown novel, or just part of a scene in a larger story that helps link chunks of a narrative together cohesively.
The focus of this blog is not just about good stories, but about the finding…the recognition of those stories. It’s that harvesting of story ideas that are all around us if we’re paying attention.
It’s like what Thomas Edison is credited with saying one time referring to recognizing opportunity. Paraphrasing, he felt that a lot of people end up missing opportunity because many times it wears overalls and looks like work.
The seed of story opportunity is all around us if we have eyes for it.
Steve Linscomb is a former television news reporter with more than 25 years experience in a number of small and large U.S. TV markets. He also has served in public education administration since 2012.
He lives in San Antonio, Texas.
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