I'm a Storyteller!

Last Thursday, I made my debut as a storyteller in Chicago. And I'm still on kind of a high about it.

The storytelling artform is comprised of people getting up in front of others and reading a 5-10 minute non-fiction story about something in their lives. Think along the lines of David Sedaris's personal essays in Me Talk Pretty One Day, Naked, etc. There are a smattering of monthly storytelling events at bars around the city. I've had a few friends read their essays, and a part of me always wanted to do it. And since 2012 is the year I'm doing stuff instead of just talking about it, I quickly wrote a story and got to perform it in front of an audience. I was so nervous! But hearing the audience laugh, getting that instant feedback, was exhilarating.

The Phil of 2011 would have said he was going to write a story sometime that year. He would've thought about it, thought about it, put it aside, forgot about it, come back to it, thought about it some more, and then another year would've gone by. (Forgive the 3rd person usage) But one of the resolutions I made to myself was to get my work out there. Don't sit on it. Don't wait too long. Don't obsess about making my work perfect. I wrote this thing in a week, and it may not have been perfect, but I'm proud of it, and proud of myself for getting out there.

I hope you all do the same. Don't hoard your material, fearing rejection like I used to. Also, I recommend reading your writing aloud -- to strangers or just to yourself. It's an unexpectedly nifty revising tool!

Storytelling!