Storytelling

Stories Transform Your Reader’s Heart – Examples of Writing Impactful Stories

Let me get on my soapbox…

Stories are how you connect to your reader. They’re how she knows, in her soul, in her bones, in her heart, that YOU, the author, Get Her. Understand her journey, her pain, her hopes for the future.

If you’re not using stories in you’re writing, you just can’t create that connection.

Let me illustrate:

Any author will tell you that there are moments where the writing gets tough and they want to give up. But they persevere because they can see the end goal: being seen as a credible expert; helping their reader to have a life-changing, life-affirming change; fulfilling a dream of writing a book.

It is in those moments of darkness, the author must dig deep into their wells of productivity, hard-work, and resilience to keep writing. Someday, they’ll look back with satisfaction for a book well-written.

O.
M.
G.

I WROTE that and it was boring. As soon as I wrote it, I wasn’t 100% sure what I said…

It didn’t sound like me. Those two paragraphs aren’t warm, inviting, caring. They don’t show, at all, my heart – and how I care about YOUR heart and the heart of the reader.

And I can almost guarantee that by now, in this moment of reading this article, you don’t exactly remember what I said, in all that pretentious glory.

(Right? You just scanned up to re-read those two paragraphs, didn’t you?!)

Now, try on the following story, first written back in June 2015

(Dude! That was two years BEFORE kids!)

Wild and rugged, Wet Beaver Creek, ArizonaTwo weeks ago Ben and I went on a 5-day backpacking trip. You know the drill: load everything into a 35 pound backpack, walk for miles into the back-country, camp, repeat the next day.

I realize that for some (a lot?) of you, that sounds like a mini version of hell. For me, it’s peace, tranquility, freedom. There’s that moment when my body says, “Ahhhh” to the weight of the pack. (By now, that’s usually the second I put it on!) And that second moment where my legs feel like they’re unattached, swinging loose from my hips, like walking is the natural state of being.

Not following me? Think of that moment where you’re doing something you love and suddenly every fiber in your being says, “Yes! I LOVE this! Yes!”

Now about this trip…

It was unlike anything we’d ever done before. It wasn’t a backpacking trip, but a canyoneering trip. I hate giving a rote definition but here’s a great explanation:

Canyoning (known as canyoneering in the U.S.) is traveling in canyons using a variety of techniques that may include other outdoor activities such as walking, scrambling, climbing, jumping, abseiling (rappelling), and swimming.

And this trip had everything except rope-work. Keep Reading!

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Stories Are How We Interact with the World

I read. A lot.

That’s hundreds of thousands of words each year that I consume. Want to know what keeps me scrolling down or flipping pages?

Stories.

(And no, I don’t only read fiction! I mostly read non-fiction, actually.)

What I’ve discovered through my years of working with non-fiction authors is that very few actually understand the power of story – and know how to harness that power to keep readers turning pages, to make the messages sink in, to make their words have significance and impact.

Stories are how we interact with the world – not just the 1, 2, 3 of plot but the emotion that a well-crafted story can invoke. So then why, for heaven’s sake, aren’t more non-fiction writer’s getting on board with story?

Stories are how we interact with the world. Are you telling stories in your writing? Click To Tweet

Earlier this year, I was working with a client on a fascinating project about inner wisdom – how to listen to it, how to let it guide you. Fascinating and much-needed topic that was being addressed in ways I’d never seen before.

Keep Reading!

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Do Stories REALLY Create Connection to Your Reader?

Maybe this is you:

You’ve written MOST of your book. You’ve poured your heart, soul, and your best teaching into the book.

You’ve explained your concepts.

Then you’ve said, “In other words…”

And you’ve explained your concepts again.

That draft is nearly done – and it’s damn good. The writing is tight, sparse even, and every word counts.

But now…

You’ve got me, whispering in your ear. Whispering about… storytelling. Telling you that your hard-won book isn’t going to be effective, that the writing you’ve done, while brilliant, won’t actually make the difference in your reader’s life that you want it to make.

And you’re a little bit angry at me.

But mostly… you’re a little bit worried that I’m right. That your book ISN’T what you wanted it to be – the book that can change a life – but you’re not 100% sure how to take it from where you are now to where you want it to be.

Are stories the missing piece?

My darling fellow author, I would never tell you to do something if it didn’t matter! When was the last time I fussed at you about learning better grammar? Um… never! Why? Because THAT can be fixed in editing.

What can’t be fixed is the lack of stories. They aren’t something you can shoehorn in, after the fact.

How do I know?

First off, I have a degree in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona. So yes, I’ve done the studying of writing and storytelling in a University setting. I’ve also attended writer’s conferences around the world and studied writing with some of the top names in current literary work.

I’ve written more than 20 books OF MY OWN. The ones that outsell the others, that get the best reviews, and that have people contacting me – even years later – are the ones with the most stories. The “cut-and-dry” ones are just that… dry.

But more than that, I’ve got thousands of articles under my belt. Yes, thousands. I used to blog nearly daily at TheOutdoorPrincess.com (which… kinda still exists. More on the tech stuff in a day or two.)

Plus NINE YEARS of writing to you, here. At least weekly, often times more.

People will TELL you that they want cut-and-dry articles, pithy things like: Five Ways to Keep Readers Turning Pages (and then a short article with JUST the five ways.)

But here’s the thing:

Search engines may love that crap.

But PEOPLE don’t.

People want to connect. They want to know you’re a real person – with strengths, weaknesses, idiosyncrasies, dreams, hobbies, and flaws. They want to read your word and feel like they know YOU.

My least-received articles are the bland, here are your steps, articles.

Keep Reading!