Storytelling is one of the earliest forms of communication. It is how history was recorded before pen and ink, before Gutenberg and the printing press. When writers stop thinking about assignments and start thinking about stories, work moves from a chore to a delight. Writing becomes a place where curiosity is rewarded, where learning about someone or about some new technology or technique is exciting and challenging not just something you have to do.
Try to remember what it was like in 3rd grade when the teacher asked students to write a story — how easy it was and how quickly words met paper. Now try to apply that same freedom from over thinking, worrying and following the rules to storytelling and see what happens.
Writing for The Equine Journal doesn’t pay a whole lot of money but it pays a whole lot in satisfaction. It offers me an entree into the people, the products and the businesses that make up the equestrian world and lets me learn about something I love — horses — and get paid, too.
It also gives me a chance to practice storytelling, whether it’s a cover story on an English Shire horse named Samson or a feature article on how to buy and sell equine real estate. Check out these articles and see what I mean about thinking about writing as storytelling.
Write On Target 