What's in a Story

What’s in a Story?

A hhh story. Like most of us, I grew up thinking stories were what you read or watched, and thought of them as entertainment, a fun way to pass the time. As the only child of ‘busy’ adults, I devoured them and developed an urge to scribble my own, without realizing – until much later – that my creative muse was giving me a tool to know myself, and with that knowing, decipher the story of everything.

E verywhere you look, corporate story engines are influencing billions of people and raking in trillions of dollars in the process; crowding our devices like an aggressive gaggle of garrulous Carny Hawkers desperate to sell us everything from toothpaste, to ideology, to hookups. My goal here is  to play through all that noise, and help you understand & master the universal ‘What’s’ in every story – because these ‘What’s,’ are at the heart of your own high-powered story engine.

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Anatomy of a ‘Creative’ – Chapter Two

I was waiting for the Solar Eclipse to remind us of the celestial mechanics that drive the universe, when my creative sensors lit up and suggested that I jump back into my Anatomy of a ‘Creative’ Series. If you read ‘Anatomy of a ‘Creative’- Chapter 1′, you know that I believe everybody is a ‘Creative,’ and that creativity works through us to power everything we are and do, so welcome to Chapter Two: Your ‘Creative’ Legs: What you ‘Stand On,’ ‘Stand For,’ and the strength of your ‘Standing.’

Standing is Essential – Physically, it keeps you fit; emotionally, it keeps you strong; intellectually, it gives you perspective; and spiritually, it represents your connection to you earthly journey. And when you choose to stand, you set the wheels of creativity in motion, and make magic happen.

I ‘ve mentioned a few of the amazing folks, from Norman Lear to Ray Bradbury, et al. that I’ve ‘Stood With’ over the years, and it’s through their example that I learned what ‘Standing Up’ is all about. Throughout the long arc of their lives they developed a profound understanding that their ‘Standing’ in the world depended on how much positive creativity they shared with us; how committed they were to ‘Standing For’ the people, places, causes & beliefs that underpinned their beliefs & vision; and how solid their ‘Standing On’ reflected the collective power of our shared creative purpose.

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The Ultimate Writer’s* Toolkit – Chapter 2

W elcome back scribblers! I’m in between drafts, and was inspired to jump into The UWT C2 while the perspiration & inspiration are fresh. I just had a call with a dear friend and I marveled at her tenacity, and willingness to move past the ‘E’ and into the ‘CC’ – the ‘E’ being Ego, and the ‘CC’ Connected Creativity. If you’ve been perusing my posts, you may be growing weary of hearing me expound on the many juicy delights of getting out of your own way, so I decided to go really, really big, and show you how to re-purpose ego by using ‘Presence’ to expand your Ultimate Scribbler’s Toolkit!

B ut Scott! You just said we have to move past the ‘E,’ absolutely correct! But moving past it, doesn’t mean that it evaporates like a bad dream. Ego, when applied properly, is a scribbler’s delight. How? Well, I hate to annoy the enlightened souls out there, but stripping the world of ego, also strips it of conflict, and conflict my dear scribblers, is the lifeblood of all fiction. Without it we would sit around the maypole in blissful satiety, singing ‘Kumbaya’ ’till the cows came home. So today we’re going to put ego in it’s proper place and practice using it the way it was intended, to help us build powerful stories.

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