Workshop Notes

Here are some notes about collecting stories from the "Recovering the Story from History" on November 24 with Carol Leigh Wehking and Glenna Janzen.
-many different perception and perspectives
-you can string together a series of interesting events and still have a bad story
-putting a human face on it
-cultivate ability to read between the lines of what is already in print
-think about repeating stories/themes after or during the interview
-putting phrases from the interviewee into the story
-respect your sources
-transcribe, let everything cook, and check- modify as necessary
-some kind of problem, resolution and ending
-feeling that it is "a whole story"
-critical- look for incidents, throw up in air- sometimes will become a story or angle
-play with events and incidents
-sometimes you need to manufacture an ending
-as for the ending- if that is not where the story is going, then it won't work as an ending
-naming characters vs. not naming them
-story development: all images in head and put together like puzzle pieces
-phrases, work in sections, start to get those phrases that are making a story
-the senses
-using shapes from a different medium as a model, springboard
-your audience has to be your creative partner
-you do need some images, but you don't need a clutter or images
eg: "the smell of wet wool"
-think about interior as well as exterior landscape
-there are many paths into a story
-have to know the facts and the context
-facts do not always equal the truth

Shaping your story:
-selectivity is the key to creating art from life
know the elements:
-know how and where your story begins
-what is your chief event? conflict or obstacle? resolved or not?
-be sure you know how and where your story ends
-try it out! Tell it, listen to it, shape it, prune it, nurture it!

What piques your interest/inspires you/catches your fancy?