What kind of story are you looking for? Do you already know the theme for the event? If so, start there. Consider what experiences you’ve had that touch on that theme (Making Home, Journeys, New Beginnings, etc., etc.). Don’t forget to consider the absence of the core idea. (Working on a forgiveness theme? When have you needed it and not had it? When have you been unable to access
If there’s no theme and you simply are looking for a story, well, good news/bad news: you’ve got more material than you could ever use. To flex and strengthen storytelling muscles, aim for a story that’s not one of your big, go-to stories.
What are some moments, experiences, conversations, that stand out for you? You don’t have to know why, or even whether it could be a story.
Settle on one moment that draws your attention, something you’d be game to explore between now and whenever you hope to tell it. Your energy level for the material matters! That’s a good enough litmus test to determine whether there’s a story there.
Then: begin to flesh out the scene or moment that’s at the heart of the story, or the moment that first grabbed your attention. Where were you? Who else was there? What happened?
Next: ask “what else would people need to know to get it?” Flesh out a few scenes that show people what you need them to know to understand how the moment impacted you.
As the story takes shape, ask yourself (repeatedly!), “What’s this about?” In other words, what was at stake for you at the time the story happened? Within the scenes, let the listeners know the stakes. A very small story (“I went out for coffee”) can carry a lot of weight when listeners know what’s at stake (“…it was the first time I’d been out of my house all week, after a terrible break-up, in the middle of a miserable winter”).
With a handful of scenes/moments, and an emerging sense of the stakes, you’ve got a story! Now, you get to edit for clarity, impact, and length.