Lau's Little List - March 23, 2024
On the pursuits of life-long learning
Greetings!
Old friends and new, it is a delight to have you back for another dose of reading, writing, and randomness. To conjure up today’s theme, reflect upon this quote:
Quote of the Week:
“In my walks, every man I meet is my superior in some way, and in that I learn from him.”
―Ralph Waldo Emerson
A Reading I Learned So Much From:
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. There are only a few books that so captivated me that I literally didn’t put them down until I finished them: Catcher in the Rye, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and this one. Flowers for Algernon tells the unforgettable story of Charlie Gordon, a man who volunteers for a controversial study and keeps a journal of the process. Like the other books I mentioned above, this story grabbed me from the start because of the immediate authenticity of the the narrator. You will see the world through Charlie’s eyes throughout this tale — and you’ll never see it the same way again.
A Writing Tip I Learned Late in Life:
“Fortunately/Unfortunately.” Conflict is something most of us try to avoid in our lives. In stories, though, conflict is what makes things interesting — nobody wants to read about a prince and princess when they’re living happily ever after. When troubles begin, the reader gets invested in finding out what the consequences will be, and if the characters will ever solve the problem. And if multiple problems crop up, that just makes the story more exciting, right?
Well, sort of. Tension moves the plot along, but some relief along the way keeps the story from growing too intense too soon; think of it like a pumping heart, where it contracts and relaxes, thereby keeping the blood flowing steadily.
An easy, fun, and collaborative way to practice this storytelling dynamic is with an activity called “Fortunately/Unfortunately.” In this game, writers take turns building a storyline one sentence at a time, alternating between fortunate and unfortunate turns of events. A brief example:
Premise: Marvin is at the grocery store, stocking up on food for a party that evening.
Unfortunately, he realized he forgot his wallet just as he reached the checkout. Fortunately, he was able to use ApplePay on his phone. Unfortunately, the payment machine didn’t work at the register. Fortunately, the guy behind him was in a hurry and offered to pay for the food to speed things up. Unfortunately, the man then asked Marvin for a favor in return: drive him to a job interview on the other end of town…
By taking turns with both the problems and resolutions as you progress through this activity, writers can learn to add conflict to a story and resolve tensions along the way, creating a more balanced yet dynamic narrative.
A Random Skill I Learned Long Ago That I Still Use:
“Stoic Storytelling Reframe.” While I didn’t use this name at the time, I learned this skill years ago from my childhood bestie. He was the best storyteller I’d ever met, and nearly all his stories were drawn from real life — often from mishaps or mistakes he’d recently dealt with. I didn’t enjoy these tales due to schadenfreude, but rather because he presented these difficulties with such unexpected humor that the different perspective delighted us both. While I certainly was aware of it at the time, he had given me a great gift, both as a storyteller and a person navigating life.
All of our experiences get turned into stories by our minds — we weave narratives based on how we interpret the world around us (and inside us). When we choose to see unpleasant experiences as “bad,” we tend to get upset, and we add these grievances to our ongoing self-narrative. But if we can instead view a setback as the seed of a good story — the “unfortunately” that leads to some fortunate outcome — we take the sting out of that problem and create a happier turn of events for ourselves.
We are all storytellers, whether we realize it or not. Would you rather tell a tragedy or a comedy?
And that's it! Did you like what you saw? Please share Lau’s Little List with anyone who you think would enjoy an extra dose of reading, writing, and randomness in their lives!
I would greatly appreciate any feedback you'd like to provide. Which recommendation was your favorite? What would you like to see more or less of in the next installment? Do you have any other suggestions? Feel free to leave a comment below with your thoughts.
We play a version of Fortunately/Unfortunately on paper or over email with friends. Each person writes one sentence based on the sentence before theirs, which is the only one that they get to see. We do our best to set a crazy scenario for the next person down the line to resolve. The whole, mad story is revealed to everyone at the end.