Thought for the Day – March 5, 2014

 

“It’s like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” – E. L. Doctorow

I give an awful lot of workshops and presentations at schools throughout the Maritimes – and sooner or later somebody ALWAYS asks me how I write a story.

For me a story – or a novel – or even a poem – is like a journey.

I need to know where I begin and where I am going.

I always think back to the days when I used to hitchhike across the province – or even across the country a couple of times. I always had a little sign with me that read – NEW GLASGOW or YARMOUTH or VANCOUVER.

I’d walk backwards down the road with my sign cradled in my arm and my thumb stuck out. I knew that I was starting in Halifax. I knew that I was going to end up in Vancouver. All I had to do was keep walking until I got there.

Same with a story.

Once I know the opening scene and the final scene all I have to do is keep on walking until I get there.

yours in storytelling,

Steve Vernon