Never Go to Bed without a Story to Tell

"Never go to bed until you have a story to tell," says Kevin Lynch, Creative Director at Oatly. I heard him interviewed on a podcast and stopped jogging to write down what he said about that daily story: It could be a deep thing that you learned, it could be a movie that you saw, it could be a way you took home, it could be a conversation that you had…it could be anything.”1 Indeed, we can live a “storied life” without a celebrity-level lifestyle full of famous people and fabulous soirees. We’re living “story-worthy” moments each day—we simply need to notice them…and capture them. Every day we have understated interactions and flashes of insight that create meaning. In fact, simpler, subtler, more relatable stories can captivate readers far better than wild escapades that don’t show any change. These daily stories serve as fodder for our work, weaving into what we write as anecdotes, illustrations. Sometimes they serve as the narrative spine of a full-length project. Thus, the more stories, the better—as Kevin Lynch observed in that interview, capturing a story each day gives us 365 stories every single year.  To start your story collection today, try these three ways to ensure you have a story to tell by the time your head hits the pillow tonight: * Reflect to discern your "story-worthy” moment from the day * Create a story worth telling before closing your eyes for the night * Gather memories that come to mind and use those as story prompts 1. Reflect on the Day to Discern Your “Story-Worthy” Moment In his TEDx Talk, on his podcast, in his book Storyworthy, and at his blog, storyteller Matthew Dicks invites every person, not just writers, to document their “most story-like moment from the day” for what he calls Homework for Life.  He takes five minutes at the end of each day and thinks back: What made this day different from all the rest?2 The idea is so simple. He writes a sentence or two—sometimes just a string of words—and later, when he has time to write it out in full, he’s got what he needs to bring back that memory from that day: the moment he chose to document.  With his Homework for Life, we note the small discoveries, the daily surprises, those meaningful moments we don’t want to lose. In other words, these daily stories don’t need to be earth-shattering events. They can be quiet, understated internal shifts. He keeps his in a spreadsheet, making it easy to search keywords and find connections and themes from year to year.3 Begin this process, and you’ll be transformed by seeing how ephemeral interactions, observations, and moments are actually filled with meaning…that a day that seems like any other day is packed with specificity. We are living stories every single day. 2. Create a story worth telling The next way to avoid going to bed until you have a story to tell is to create a story. That’s what Kevin Lynch suggests: “If someone asks, ‘How was your day?’ and you don't have a story to tell them, go create one."4 He continues, "By doing so, it pushes you out of your comfort zone and kind of gets you used to doing a little more experimentation and being vulnerable and putting yourself in vulnerable places or situations."5