2014 has been a year of consuming stories. Aside from watching a lot of movies this year, I also listened to a lot of podcasts. My mobile phone has functioned more as an iPod than an iPhone. Last year, I read a lot of online longform articles and blogs via Pocket but not as much this year. My big regret is I haven’t read as many books as I would like. This is something I need to address in 2015 and I may have to reduce my video and audio consumption to do this.
I have blogged about storytelling several times in the past and I would be blogging more about it in 2015.
What is a story?
I love this illustrative definition of a story in James Robertson’s book.
“A writer friend tells me that if he said he went on a train from Perth to Doncaster, changing at Edinburgh, that wouldn’t be a story, but if he said that it was only when he got to Doncaster that he realised he’d left his bag in Edinburgh, that would be. Something has to change for it to be a story, my friend the writer said, something has to happen.
A boy goes to shop and doesn’t come back.
A boy goes out to the shop and doesn’t come back for seven years.
A boy goes out to the shop and when he comes back seven years later he is a girl.These are stories, if I am not mistaken.” James Robertson {365 stories}
I got a Whatsapp message from a friend a few days ago and he said that he hadn’t received any blog posts from me in a while. I admitted that it was my fault as my last blog post was on October 30. My side projects took a lot of my time in 2014 but I expect a manageable 2015.
I published 42 blog posts in 2013 and only in 22 in 2014 including this one. My 2015 resolution is to do 24 posts the entire year at the rate of 2 posts per month. These posts will come out on the second and fourth Mondays of each month.
I am signing off for 2014 so do have a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2015.
One reply on “Looking Ahead”
Hey Prof.. I really appreciate your committment to educate and enlighten via these blog posts. Thank you. I definitely look forward to more of your ‘stories’ in 2015. GOD bless you and your mind!