Finding the right story
So I was giving a talk this week on the History of Britain.
(Don’t worry, this isn’t another post about the coronation of King Charles III - although I have many thoughts on that - comment or DM me if you want to know!)
When I travel with Viking, they often task me with the hilariously impossible: “The History of Spain” in 45 minutes. Or “Explorers” (give or take 20 of them) in 45 minutes. I’ve learned to open my talks by pointing out that this is impossible, and then offering a guess as to how far I’ll get.
Last week, for example, my goal for “History of France” was Napoleon… we got to Joan of Arc ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Nobody’s perfect!
While this used to cause me stress - leaving people without the “whole story” - I’ve gotten much better about this because I ground them in the story I want to tell the story always works itself out.
I know what stories I can best fit together to help my audience - curious travelers - better understand something about where we are. And I don’t want to tell them more about something they already know (eg. WWII); I want to tell them a story of the History of… that they never realized was there!
This brings me to the History of Britain two days ago.
As some of you may know, I have a whole darned Ph.D. related to this, so it seems like the slam-dunk lecture, right? But Irish cultural resistance to empire through world’s fair constructions in the late 19th century really doesn’t land the punch I want ;-)
And it doesn’t relate too well to the Viking slidedeck, either!
So I’ve been battling my way throught this talk for a few years now.
And every time I hate it. It feels clunky, miserable, like the worst of everything I hated about History when I was in high school.
So I try again and again, try to crowbar a new story into the timeline, or pry a different one out of it.
I gave Version 3 or 4 of this clunker last week, and it still just felt ugh…
The story that I know I could tell just wouldn’t come out.
Fast forward a day to the coronation (ok, so this post is a little about the coronation) and I was more put-off than I expected by the pomp and circumstances, the historical framing of the whole thing, the messaging at every level - word, action, symbol, and foodstuff - insisting that England was still the center of the world. (For a great post on how the coronation channeled symbols that go way back, check out
's latest.)
I kept thinking - wow - when will England get that they’re not at the [historical, religious, geographical, cultural, etc.] center?!?!
As a scholar whose work shows how colonized nations chipped away at the edges of empire to finally reveal that the king had no clothes (perhaps an apt metaphor at the moment?), the concept of decentering seems almost so obvious that I sometimes take it for granted.
But clearly I forgot that the monarchy has no sense of decentering itself, no matter how much the empire has shrunken.
And all of the sudden, I figured out the story.
When I give this talk again next week, it will be a story of the History of Britain from the edges. I’ll do the thing I know best: show off the margins, weave a tale of the myriad of incredible people and peoples who contributed to the History of Britain and let the monarchs sit off to the side.
I am looking forward to this talk for the first time ever!
Now, in case you haven’t figured this out yet, I tell you all this to remind you that sometimes the best thing you can do for your story is to write it a new way.
How often have you had that great idea and it feels like the pages won’t behave, or the words won’t come?
How many times have your written yourself into a corner?
How often has solidifying the idea felt just out of reach?
The answer is likely right there - something you intrinsically know and have misplaced or forgotten - the story ready to emerge.
You’re just telling it the wrong way.
It’s not wrong, like bad. It’s wrong like it’s meant to come ‘round just a bit differently.
And that’s the magic of writing - you can write it again and find the key that opens all those doors.
I work with writers all the time who have gotten stuck, sometimes before they even begin, because the story is right there and they can’t quite reach it.
It’s why we start with the foundations - the core pieces of a proposal that happen to act like keys when you write them first.
When your manuscript is in disarray, ask yourself about your Reader.
I find most confusion and entanglement happens when you start writing for everyone, instead of the one, key person.
I know you want everyone to read your book, but that means you try to write yourself in knots pleasing them all.
Instead, focus on one, very narrow ideal Reader and write them the most heartfelt and intimate book. Write just for them, just too them. I promise that authenticity will resonate with people well beyond your target.
If you don’t know where to start, I love Jennie Nash’s trick: write three openings. Set a timer and tackle the first pages 3 times, in 45-minute chunks. Make each 45-minute opening different - maybe a different scene or from a different POV.
Then sit back and read what happened. Which opening feels like it moves you where you want to go? Let it inspire you. Follow where it leads.
The last tip I offer is to think about cause.
In week 4 of my Pre-Proposal Book plan, we only work with Causality. Once chapter at a time - sometimes even one scene at a time - we figure out why things have to happen the way they do in your book.
tl;dr Every chapter has to cause the next chapter. This is as true for an entrepreneurial guidebook as it is for a historical narrative.
Story happens when one thing leads to the next - that’s causality. If one thing just happens after another, that’s a list, and no one enjoys those (ok, well, some people do, but even those people probably don’t enjoy them for 70,000 words!)
I hope these tips help you find your story, get unstuck, and find the way forward that inspires you and others.
I’ve got my fingers crossed about my upcoming History of Britain.
I’m also hopeful that these ideas help you unlock your story.
And if you need help or want more ideas, don’t forget that I’m booking right now for Summer Camp sessions of my 5-week Pre-Proposal Book plan. You pick the weeks you take your book to camp.
Together, we’l unlock your story, fire up your inspiration, and give your the answers to the questions that are holding you back from writing your book!
What are you waiting for?
P.S. Did I mention there’s Summer Camp swag? Book now & get yours! Make this Summer one for your book!
