This is a transcription of Stories We Don't Tell Podcast Episode 85: When One Thing Represents Another. Listen to the podcast episode HERE.
I don't think we should introduce ourselves at all. Listeners will figure it out.
Yes and I think we don't we only have five minutes so so we can't even waste time doing that. We’re back with the second installment of Five in Five: After Dark.
We talked about finding a moment like in the original Five in Five at the beginning of the season. This was about finding a moment in the story that you can build your story around. But say you have a certain theme or more universal thing or something larger you want to get at. It’s then looking at your own personal story and how something can represent those themes or whatever you're trying to do.
Listen to this episode by clicking the image above.
There was a story that I was trying to figure out. This story was about the voices in my head and I wasn't sure how to get there. I wanted to tell a story about that hiking in Jordan and mix in this other stuff, but I don't know how. It was an interesting enough hike but it was not in any way life-changing. However, it was a very great foil to use to sort of tell this larger story about the voices in my head. And so I think when you’re trying to tell a wider story you can find something else in your life that lets you get there.
I had a story where I talked about being younger and some bullying going on and stuff. It was a few months into #metoo and I worked really hard and checked it with other friends of ours. I was careful to speak to the universal moment, but also keep it personal. I hope it was very clear that the story was connected to that wider concept.
The ability to find a piece that opens up the opportunity to talk about the thing you really want to talk about. And more often than not these larger themes don't have something specifically tied to you. You might have to find it and connect it to your actual lived experience.
Sometimes when you write about a universal theme like relationships, it’s difficult because you want to get it right. You don’t want your personal story to completely take over if you are exploring a more universal theme. There are so many pressures to get it right and fairly.
And we did it again. To wrap up, first you want to write it all out but don’t get lost in the story and find a moment in your story that could represent a universal theme you want to explore.