PART ONE:
Many people have one good book inside them. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that every person has at least one good story inside them. And that story demands to be beheld. It hurts us when our story remains ‘unspoken’.
When we lived in tribes, we all knew each others stories and somehow that … validated us. If we are not heard, touched, seen and understood we feel impoverished; we fail to thrive. In fact, after survival is assured, to be valued may be our most driving human need.
Ancient publishing systems worked great. Stories were collected and distributed for generations orally around campfires, chanted to the throb of drumbeats, danced to and reenacted – stories were treasured. Hunting stories were drawn on walls with charcoal and minerals. Migration stories and birth stories were carved in rock; we call them petroglyphs and pictograms. The author connected to their audience and the audience was engaged. This is the basis, the foundation of our industry. It’s important that we do not forget that.
