"If You Don't Get It The First time . . . " by Myranette Robinson

The Funky JB’s, the back-up band of the late James Brown, has a song with one of his lyrics, “If you don’t get it the first time, back up and try it again."

That happens to me when I look for my next personal story.  I can read prompts again and again, but nothing triggers it, so I stop in disgust. I do something else. Sometimes a few days will pass and I read the same prompts again. Well, something did catch my imagination a little, but I find myself on a bridge to nowhere. I stop for a moment and read some prompts again. Somehow, in the middle of those new prompts, I have an ah-ha moment. The moment this time isn't on the new prompts but one that I read yesterday.

That is how I got my personal stories including my first one from the personal stories class I am taking this semester. I wish I could say that it was a piece of cake after I saw a prompt that I could work with.  The one that stuck with me this time was tell about your first pet. Oh, that was easy.  My first pet was a brown chihuahua named Penny, but I could not get any further than that she lived in a box in the kitchen, I played with her and after a while she died. I did not think that would be an interesting story.  However, it did lead me to think about my other pets.  I eventually thought about my dog named Holly Belle and how her death affected me and taught me a life lesson. 

My next step was crafting the story.  I had to decide how to craft it.  I decided to first write out a rough sketch on what I remembered.  I did not dwell much on the details just what happened.  Next, I thought more about the place and the people involved. The next step was deciding the importance of the people in the story.  I gave four of the characters names, included others in a grouping and some a description such as my friend who lived across the street.  Then I decided to use the formula of the inverted world. I had to think back what my world was like before the incident, the trouble that came and what I learned from it. 

After that I thought about each part in more detail: what it looked like, what was said by the major characters, including myself, and how I should express the lesson learned.  That gave me the chance to add description and texture to the place so the audience could make a picture.  In the dialogue, of course I did not remember the exact words, so I thought about what each person might have said dependent on my knowledge of them.  This also freed me from having to remember exact words.  Since the story was not a happy one, I did want to add a small amount of humor.  I decided to add an eight-year-old version of how I bought the items for my dog. 

Then, when all of this was done, I practiced, practiced and practiced until I was satisfied with my story.  I knew that it would go through some small changes during the telling to make sure that the audience and I were building a satisfying event together.

Now for the next story. Again, I read a list over and over until I decided to tell about a time that some friends and I (mostly me) got in trouble.

Click here to hear the Funky JBs perform, “If You Don’t Get It the First Time, Back Up And Do It Again.”

Comments

[Laura Rutherford]

What a great post. You described your process of finding and then crafting your story so beautifully. Sometimes stories come easily and sometimes they come hard. Yours when told in class was amazing. Thank you!

[Marilee Lasch]

Your process of crafting your story is so professional! I missed hearing the story, it appears, but reading how you crafted it I'm sure it was one worth listening to time and time again.

[Kim]

I enjoyed reading about your creative process Myranette! Life is so much more memorable and meaningful when we find ourselves in the midst of a struggle. In my experience, the learning and growing are almost always in the journey.

[Dee Dee]

Myranette, all the hard work you put into crafting your first story definitely paid off.

[Sue K.]

It was quite helpful reading how you start with a concept and then work it into a full blown story. That seems like a solid approach to use. I especially like how you target which characters you will develop. Thanks for sharing!

[Nirit Simon]

I like the part where you mentioned rolling certain characters into one. I just learned about that technique in my reading. I also like the part where you say that you wanted to make sure that you collaborate with the audience to make a satisfying experience. Storytelling is collaborative, isn't it?

[Marian Giannatti]

This is such a great post. Oh, how I can relate! I read prompts and stare blankly at them quite often, then I experience the same, "ah ha!" when I remember something. Then I think,"Um, what can I do with this?" We are obviously not alone. Your description of the crafting process was great, reminding me that we all have our own way - and thank goodness for all the great tellers and teachers who give us the tools to create a story! I miss being in class with you Myranette, I always love your stories!