Infinite Ink

Spinning stories out of threads of thought

I narrate in my head sometimes. I describe what's happening as if I were writing it down. It's fun. Hey, I'm a writer. I have nerdy pastimes like these.

I'm narrating when I go to the mall and browse through Claire's. So far I've only walked away having bought loom bands for my little cousins, but I've written up one good story in my head while I'm doing it. (Loom bands are colorful rubber bands that kids use to make handmade jewelry.)

I'm narrating when I shower, but no, I don't cook up a story featuring the soap and the shampoo. I think of my work in progress or something like that.

I don't narrate all the time, though, and not in complete sentences, either. Most of the time it's just random phrases that pop up in my head, describing the activity I'm engaged in. Fragments twirling around in my consciousness and floating away to be replaced by a new stream of words. The only thing is, sometimes I get good story ideas but I don't write them down. I have to work on that, because once a story idea is washed away, most of the time it's hard to bring it back.

The art of storytelling lives in all of us. We tell stories when we describe how our day went, when we turn over the events of the day in our minds, and when we officially set pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and cook up a tale.

What's your favorite story? Do you ever think in words instead of concepts or pictures?