#184 - Why Not Just Try and see what happens? ✨
Five reasons why trying is valuable for storytellers of all types
This is Adventures in Storytelling your weekly note with resources, insights, and actionable tools for better communication through storytelling. Enjoy.
Try.
It’s a bold directive. It requires a fair bit of bravery and willingness to be wrong. It’s hard. It means releasing your ego, being curious, and then just doing the thing.
And yet, that is the theme I’ve chosen for myself for 2025. To try and see what happens.
This all started back in late 2024 as the fall weather was just starting to seep into winter. I was on the waning end of a long struggle with illness and exploring getting back into the world. I was walking toward a kids book launch event at my local book shop.
I didn’t want to go. A part of me was a little afraid to be around so many strangers without anyone I knew to boost my introverted confidence. I hadn’t done something like this since before I was sick. I wasn’t sure I had the energy for it.
As I walked toward the main street it was on and debated turning around to protect my peace, I said out loud to myself, “why don’t I just try?” If it sucks or I’m uncomfortable I can leave. So I kept walking and made it to the warmth and coziness of a store I really have grown to love since this night.
I stayed for the whole thing. AND ran into an old colleague I hadn’t seen in years. We made plans for drinks the next week and I got to catch up with someone I genuinely enjoy but might not have thought to reach out to.
I also got a few great ideas for my own kids book launch in April this year. I got the author to sign a copy of her book and gifted it to my niece.
And I almost didn’t go.
There was something powerful for me in this notion of, it could go wrong but that’s okay. I’m just going to try. It gave me a bit of permission to take a small step into the unknown while knowing I could step back if I needed to. It created a strange sort of safety to just try and see what happened.
So despite my respect for Yoda and his wisdom, the word “try” is now an important north star for me.
Here’s why I think it may be valuable for you as a storyteller:
It gives you permission to experiment
It helps you let go of perfectionism
It opens up new possibilities for your own story and the ones you want to share
It invites flexibility
It makes the hard stuff a little less scary by lowering the stakes
It gives you the chance to either achieve something new or learn something new
It’s actually also fun.
You don’t have to take on my mantra for the year, but I’d encourage you to explore the idea of trying the things that might scare you a little and then seeing what happens.
A Story Well Told
Well. My heart has been broken and mended and broken a few times this weekend. That’s because I was finishing up the latest in Rebecca Yarros’ Empyrean book series, Onyx Storm. It’s a fantasy/romance series based at a war college with dragons. It is epic and imperfect and full of wonderful lessons in character development and world building. If you’re a fantasy fan or just love a good plot driven read, highly recommend you dive in. The first of the series is called Fourth Wing. Be forewarned, Onyx Storm is the third installment in an unfinished series of five books. Which means I’m going to spend the next two years waiting and wondering about what’s going to happen to the characters I’ve come to love. In the meantime, if you’re looking for me, I’ll be on tiktok devouring fan theories while I wait.
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