I’ve had trouble authoring this blog, in general, since its inception. I think that a big part of what’s been going on is that I have stated a certain mandate and proceeded to provide content that fails to match up with it. And so, I’d like to take a carving knife to both mandate and content, and try to establish something different for my next attempt.
Guiding Principles
These are some tenets I hold to, mixed up with some goals that I want to dedicate my life to advancing.
We are strongly moved by and informed by stories.
Stories unify communities.
Stories reveal who we are.
The beautiful thing is that we don’t owe stories anything, meaning we are free to create them, explore them, deconstruct them and learn from them as we see fit. We are free to draw from them only what we want and need, and to leave them afterwards. There is a certain joy to this freedom, which I summarize as a freedom to “bury without ceremony”.
Joyful and intentional communities are vital in living rich, balanced lives.
The ability to share our experiences and stories, and to be heard, brings us joy and peace.
I’ve used the word joy several times – it’s an important one for achieving any goals I have. A community will prosper if it operates on willing, enthusiastic, rewarding participation. Communication, likewise. I’d like to see storytelling, community building, community participation and meaningful communication all stemming from that willing, enthusiastic, rewarding place. In other words, I don’t want to see any of them conflicting with self-interest. Rather, they should be the best way to fulfill self-interest.
What I Hope To Do With This Blog
1.) Explore how to build stories with others.
The first part of this is looking at shared storytelling mediums (story games, improv, shared writing, different cultural perspectives). I am not interested in providing a survey of storytelling mediums, and thus there will be huge gaps present in what I talk about. I am interested in talking about what I discover, what I explore, and what brings me joy.
The second part is exploring communication techniques (and storytelling techniques specific to certain mediums), especially that which will support better communication and richer experiences.
2.) Explore how to support story-based communities.
This first part of this is to look at how we can reconcile our differences through story-based communication (drawing from Nonviolent Communication, as well as Appreciative Inquiry).
The second part of this is to look at how we can construct communities & events that support storytelling. I’m going to draw from my involvement with the Vancouver Gaming Guild, my organizing of Story Games Thursday, my involvement in story gaming communities, and the outreach efforts that I use.
3.) Invite Conversation.
I’d rather not shout at myself, and I’d rather not disseminate ideas (which I’ve been guilty of). Rather, I’d like to open up converations.
One way that I will aim to do this is to share experiences, inviting others to do likewise. Further, I want to share questions and context, rather than answers. Finally, I want to connect ideas, and to see what others make of the connections.
4.) Communicate well.
I want to communicate ideas that are accessible and concise. If I find a post taking over 500-600 words, I’m not going to post it as is – clearly there is an idea that I need to refine, think about or break into pieces. If I find myself using extensive jargon, I’m going to double-think my approach – am I shorthanding things that require context? am I assuming a certain audience who I might not get?
This perhaps leads me to…
Who Will This Blog Be For?
People who play story games and like to think about them.
People who play story games and have frustrations with the people at the table with them.
People who want to build communities to support story games, improv, storytelling, and creative endeavors.
People who care about stories.
People who care about communicating intentionally and from a place of experience.
People who want to discuss communication, communities and stories.
People who want to explore sustainable, meaningful lifestyle choices.
Story gamers, storytellers, rewilders, community builders, thinkers, listeners and visionaries.
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