My computer crashed last week. Thankfully, I was able to get it to power back on and restart. When I opened Word, it launched the Document Recovery panel, so I hadn’t lost any work there. And the email I was in the middle of writing had been saved to the Drafts folder. My web browser, though, did not restore my session, and I had A LOT of tabs open at the time of the crash.
I opened the browser history and, as I reviewed it to look for websites I needed to reopen, I had to laugh. I could tell exactly when I had been working on my latest story.
Me and My Thesaurus
Since taking two storytelling workshops with Better Said Than Done, I’ve told four stories on stage. Some people might prepare for their performance by rehearsing from an outline – either written or in their head – but I prefer to write my stories out word for word and then make them more conversational as I memorize and rehearse them.
I have worked in communications for about twenty years, and I enjoy the technical aspects of writing, including choosing my words carefully. So, I’ll review definitions to ensure that I’m clearly and accurately conveying what it is I want to say, and I’ll crack open the (online) thesaurus to avoid overusing words. Where I can, and hopefully without overdoing it, I weave in alliteration, assonance, and allusions.
Fill in the __________.
My latest story is set in 2003. Of the four that I’ve told on stage, that is the most recent setting. Another is set in 2001, and the other two, while largely set in 1999 and 2006, include anecdotes going back as far as the ’70s. While I remember the story, I sometimes like to do a little research to help fill in some details that have escaped my mind – things like the date on which something happened or the name of a restaurant – that help bring the tale to life.
When I looked at my browser history yesterday, I found searches for:
javelina
percolate
delusion
silver certificates
safe deposit box
brain death
garbled
parabolic microphone
Kingsville restaurants
levels of Purgatory
…and many more to help me craft a better story. I also learn some new things along the way, and I get very interesting ads on Google and Facebook.
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Mary Supley Foxworth is a communications and development professional whose passion is to build healthy, sustainable, and inclusive communities. Having lived in Northern Virginia and DC for more than 35 years, she considers herself a native of the area. Mary has long enjoyed the performing arts – as a performer, backstage, and from the audience – but only first stepped on stage as a storyteller in 2013. She appreciates the challenge and opportunity to write and share experiences from her life.
Jessica Piscitelli Robinson, President of the Board of Friends of Reston and Founder of Better Said Than Done, not only hosted the show, but kicked it off with a story of one very demanding bear.
Brad Podliska went a little cuckoo with a clock purchase.
It’s our last show of the summer, and what a show it will be!
