A learned story-teller can morph into a very good writer, especially one who reads, or like you, is compelled to communicate through the written word, as you were. It's always a treat when one of your stories hits my mailbox.
“It’s the best schooling you could imagine. An audience who is simultaneously interested in the story while looking for an opportunity to discredit you at the same time”. These two sentences are the foundation of all scientific and social progress as beautifully written by an illiterate ex-con? An absolute truth!
Well, then, Mister Coleman Storyteller, sir, spin us a yarn so unlike yourself we are all convinced you plagiarized it.
I Double Dog Dare you to try!
Write us a yarn so unlike anything you've ever tried...sci-fi or fantasy or some such ilk as you never have written. Reach beyond yourself. Your missus may help. Wow us with your un-Coleman-esque yarn.
You begin at the beginning. Start with definitions: what is sci-fi, what makes it different from fantasy or crime genre or anything else? Then you proceed to some kind of seed or starting-stimulus. I am visually stimulated: I see a story in a hieroglyph or a strange picture. You may be stimulated by words or other things. In short story contests, a contestant generally gets a genre, character, and object as a starting point.
Genre: Sci-fi. Character: bowler. Object: a legal contract.
Look up the words and learn what other definitions they might have (a bowler is a type of hat, a guy who bowls, or a guy who makes wood bowls, for example.) Finding the full meaning gives you more options than you may have known initially.
Don’t delay too long… You’ve been Triple Dog Dared before all of Substackistan. You wouldn’t want to lose any of your street-cred with delay, would you?
I'm a killer in my own right. I don't think either of us has much interest in killing the other. He knows the awful cost. So do I. Besides, he's man enough to take the shellacking if he fails to meet the Triple Dog Dare. Doubtless he has endured worse.
You've got a very clear view of what shaped you and IMO you've nailed the core of what motivates and molds us as children and how those experiences translate into adult behaviours. (I'm a psychology student).
I also have been told I am great (written) story teller my whole life. Personally mine is an incessant need to perfect my communication so that I am understood accurately by the other and is a reflection of my childhood method of creating connection to my emotionally absent parents. I am always, always, viewing my writing from another's perspective. Like you, the purpose of the storytelling is centred around having an effect on another person. The blessing of a neglectful caregiver is a heightened sense of how to 'be' who you need to evoke desired reactions in others.
This is so great. I always learn from you. I grew up kinda poor in the woods of rural northern WI and am pretty introverted and a terrible story teller. My wife is an amazing story teller which is part of why I like her when we first met. She can have people hanging on her every word and laughing hysterically. Also, one of my best friends growing up was quite similar but his stories would be almost total bullshit with a small amount of truth mixed in. We were all reasonably intelligent, actually, but he would show up and tell some wild ass story having everyone laughing their asses off and believing all of it and then later we would ask someone that was there about it and they would tell the true story. Would go back to him and then laugh about how he pulled one over on us again. This happened a lot and we still never learned. Maybe we didn’t want to. He had us trained pretty well.
ain’t nothin to argue with there .. it’s just ‘the way it is.. I became an ‘adept in ‘the art of lying, early on as a feral orphan - just to survive the neverending combination of physical assault & mental onslaught
The bullying of schoolmates was a nothingburger compared to the malignant skill sets of ‘certain educators & clergy. In my early 20’s tracked them all down - in person.. & had a ‘come to jesus - one way conversation in their classroom and/or church.. in regard to them continuing such practices with innocent children & the consequences thereof - They didn’t see me coming & left them all with zero clue to my identity or current sources upon my departure - I left them with A Promise - not A Lie
Man, you’ve lived a life—and you are very good at writing about it. Unique voice, unique perspective. You considering a memoir? I think I might read that.
Yeah, that fits. It suits you well. Good that they become archived—one never knows how they’ll be used in the future. The best memoirs write themselves I guess.
I’ve always heard there are three types of salespeople in this world. Politicians who sell you themselves, those who sell physical products or services, and lawyers whose job it is to sell you a story. What do the ones who are good at these things all have in common? They’re excellent storytellers. And the public thrives on it. Our culture, our traditions, our history is all composed of stories.
You don’t have to be good at reading or writing to be a great storyteller. The human race has been telling stories long before we had the skills to write it down. On the flip side of that coin, I would argue you can’t be a good writer without having raw storytelling talent. And you certainly have it. I would say that’s not just something you learned, it was in you to begin with.
I see a lot of people on Substack struggling to write, Coleman, but you're not one of them. What you said about being in the story is spot on. The worst writing anyone does is when they write about shit they don't know and can't live. I call that fake fiction. Authenticity makes a story ring like a bell, and when it's real, we can all hear it.
Storytelling is what we do to make sense of the world, to relate to others, to remake the world. Using all the senses we have.
Few people realise its power. And even fewer do so whilst being so extraordinarily talented at it. No such thing as "people like you" - you're unique, weaving your own story, and pulling us all in. I'm grateful.
A learned story-teller can morph into a very good writer, especially one who reads, or like you, is compelled to communicate through the written word, as you were. It's always a treat when one of your stories hits my mailbox.
“Hood story telling surrounds indisputable facts with bullshit details.” - A great sentence which reminds me of some politicians, too.
No, a politician would surround bullshit facts with indisputable details.
Just some? 😉
“It’s the best schooling you could imagine. An audience who is simultaneously interested in the story while looking for an opportunity to discredit you at the same time”. These two sentences are the foundation of all scientific and social progress as beautifully written by an illiterate ex-con? An absolute truth!
Great point about why science works, and why it is now broken; the adversary has been disallowed. I hadn't thought about it that way before.
Yes. I’s as simple as that. Coleman’s sentence is both beautiful and profound
I guess, but for me it was world book and a library card.
Well, then, Mister Coleman Storyteller, sir, spin us a yarn so unlike yourself we are all convinced you plagiarized it.
I Double Dog Dare you to try!
Write us a yarn so unlike anything you've ever tried...sci-fi or fantasy or some such ilk as you never have written. Reach beyond yourself. Your missus may help. Wow us with your un-Coleman-esque yarn.
I Triple Dog Dare ya!
I tried that with the Horror story. Sci-fi huh? Man, where do I even begin?
You begin at the beginning. Start with definitions: what is sci-fi, what makes it different from fantasy or crime genre or anything else? Then you proceed to some kind of seed or starting-stimulus. I am visually stimulated: I see a story in a hieroglyph or a strange picture. You may be stimulated by words or other things. In short story contests, a contestant generally gets a genre, character, and object as a starting point.
Genre: Sci-fi. Character: bowler. Object: a legal contract.
Look up the words and learn what other definitions they might have (a bowler is a type of hat, a guy who bowls, or a guy who makes wood bowls, for example.) Finding the full meaning gives you more options than you may have known initially.
Great. Now I'm thinking about stuff. I didn't plan on stuff thinking today. Imma need to feature on this a bit
Don’t delay too long… You’ve been Triple Dog Dared before all of Substackistan. You wouldn’t want to lose any of your street-cred with delay, would you?
Sean: Be careful who (whom?) you Triple Dog Dare. He may decide to kill your ass.
I'm a killer in my own right. I don't think either of us has much interest in killing the other. He knows the awful cost. So do I. Besides, he's man enough to take the shellacking if he fails to meet the Triple Dog Dare. Doubtless he has endured worse.
Who. The ‘m’ comes out when the who is the object of a preposition.
Wow! Very good Mr. Coleman. Good story telling can be mythology, evil story telling is for propaganda and manipulation.
You've got a very clear view of what shaped you and IMO you've nailed the core of what motivates and molds us as children and how those experiences translate into adult behaviours. (I'm a psychology student).
I also have been told I am great (written) story teller my whole life. Personally mine is an incessant need to perfect my communication so that I am understood accurately by the other and is a reflection of my childhood method of creating connection to my emotionally absent parents. I am always, always, viewing my writing from another's perspective. Like you, the purpose of the storytelling is centred around having an effect on another person. The blessing of a neglectful caregiver is a heightened sense of how to 'be' who you need to evoke desired reactions in others.
This is so great. I always learn from you. I grew up kinda poor in the woods of rural northern WI and am pretty introverted and a terrible story teller. My wife is an amazing story teller which is part of why I like her when we first met. She can have people hanging on her every word and laughing hysterically. Also, one of my best friends growing up was quite similar but his stories would be almost total bullshit with a small amount of truth mixed in. We were all reasonably intelligent, actually, but he would show up and tell some wild ass story having everyone laughing their asses off and believing all of it and then later we would ask someone that was there about it and they would tell the true story. Would go back to him and then laugh about how he pulled one over on us again. This happened a lot and we still never learned. Maybe we didn’t want to. He had us trained pretty well.
The little extras, the distracting details in the story are hypnotic.
ain’t nothin to argue with there .. it’s just ‘the way it is.. I became an ‘adept in ‘the art of lying, early on as a feral orphan - just to survive the neverending combination of physical assault & mental onslaught
The bullying of schoolmates was a nothingburger compared to the malignant skill sets of ‘certain educators & clergy. In my early 20’s tracked them all down - in person.. & had a ‘come to jesus - one way conversation in their classroom and/or church.. in regard to them continuing such practices with innocent children & the consequences thereof - They didn’t see me coming & left them all with zero clue to my identity or current sources upon my departure - I left them with A Promise - not A Lie
.. The End
Man, you’ve lived a life—and you are very good at writing about it. Unique voice, unique perspective. You considering a memoir? I think I might read that.
Unless, of course, I’m just telling you a story.
Substack is my memoir
Yeah, that fits. It suits you well. Good that they become archived—one never knows how they’ll be used in the future. The best memoirs write themselves I guess.
Great explanation of where you’re at with the writing. What you’re also describing is some powerful intuition.
I’ve always heard there are three types of salespeople in this world. Politicians who sell you themselves, those who sell physical products or services, and lawyers whose job it is to sell you a story. What do the ones who are good at these things all have in common? They’re excellent storytellers. And the public thrives on it. Our culture, our traditions, our history is all composed of stories.
You don’t have to be good at reading or writing to be a great storyteller. The human race has been telling stories long before we had the skills to write it down. On the flip side of that coin, I would argue you can’t be a good writer without having raw storytelling talent. And you certainly have it. I would say that’s not just something you learned, it was in you to begin with.
I see a lot of people on Substack struggling to write, Coleman, but you're not one of them. What you said about being in the story is spot on. The worst writing anyone does is when they write about shit they don't know and can't live. I call that fake fiction. Authenticity makes a story ring like a bell, and when it's real, we can all hear it.
Hiding in plain site. One of my most fave pastimes. 👏
Storytelling is what we do to make sense of the world, to relate to others, to remake the world. Using all the senses we have.
Few people realise its power. And even fewer do so whilst being so extraordinarily talented at it. No such thing as "people like you" - you're unique, weaving your own story, and pulling us all in. I'm grateful.
Well done. It’s amazing how much one can learn by imitation and thinking about how things work.