LIST #2 STORIES I CAN TELL

LIST #2  STORIES I CAN TELL

These are you greatest hits. These are the stories you can tell with the pronoun I. You were there, or were a part of it in some way. These are the stories people keep asking you to tell. These are true stories from your experience. (List #3 is for all the stories that don’t fit or belong on List #2)

Don’t get caught up in the word STORY and worry that there isn’t much to tell. Think of story in this context to include a scene, or event, or insight. The more specific the better.

NOTE: You are the audience for this list. The items need to make sense to you. Be specific enough so that you know what you are talking about. Don’t write: football or camping or senior year or friends. That’s too broad. Narrow it down to specifics.

Here’s an example of a LIST #2:

1. the monkey at the St. Louis zoo

2. my engagement

3. how to sit in first class without rerouting a flight

4. chunky peanut butter, college roommate

5. getting the joke from the pier, 20 years later

6. knowing just enough to save a life (tree in backyard)

7. the good “deal” I got on a tattoo

8. “There’s peanut butter on the floor and it smells like poop!”

9. “Well, I’ve been reading for the last hour. Do I look any smarter to you?”

10. 52 pick up in Hungarian classrooms

11. “Turn it down a notch!” DOES NOT EQUAL “Come down to my office for nachos.”

12. Construction site, razor knife, wrist

13. Introducing Big Brother – ENTER: laptop, heels, Big Sister

14. Musical composition and one final math test

15. “They said I was showing up late.”

Note: It might be hard to tell if your story belongs on #2 or #3. It doesn’t matter. Choose one. #15 looking at in now is a story I heard maybe even thirdhand and did not involve me at all. But, I can say “I had a student once who…”

Remember: this list is for you. You are the audience. Put enough details in your description so that you know what you are talking about and would be able to tell the story.

16. looking for an egg, via dinghy, on sailing trip and coming back with stories

17. “He’s the heir to the Dixie Cup Throne.”

18. Saving the world one coffee cup at a time

19. “Freshmens I is your counselor!” and “Raise your hand if you want me to speech you!”

20. One Hungarian teacher’s crusade on the pronunciation of the word CAN’T

21. my one home run

22. What Tom told his wife about work, and what he meant by OLD SCHOOL

23. the bat in the living room

24. waterballoons on the fire escape and the OSU football team

25. A friend gave up in traffic

This list needs to make sense to me. If I can look at the details and know what the story is, than it is perfect.

Go, write a LIST #2. What are your greatest hits?