Everyone Has a Story

Everyone has a story. I’m not talking about a fictional tale they can create. I’m referring to the story of their real lives, the experiences and difficulties they have faced or are in the midst of.

Everyone has one – a story. It’s often my first thought when someone shares the painful parts of their life with me. The more I connect with people the more this truth become apparent. It happens a lot. Maybe that means I’m a good listener. I like to think I’m also a good observer.

The majority of the general population is extroverted, or so the experts tell me – as high as 90% in North America according to some profiles. So these people will, in all likelihood show the effects of their ‘story’ mostly in their overt behaviours, in observable ways. We may not know what their stories are unless they tell us but they tend to act it out more than think it out.

Then there are the rest of us, the introverts. They tend not to act out the effects of our stories in easily observable ways. They are more likely to stay in the backgrounds, almost invisible. I suspect that introverts are more likely to become the victims of bullies, who, I find have radar for victims. I wonder how many members of energetic team sports are introverts. I’d bet they are in the minority.

I suspect that writers (and possibly artists in general) may reverse the proportions ratio of introverts to extroverts in the general population. After reading the hints and even self-disclosures I have read on the various threads, blogs, and groups I am connected with as a writer I am convinced that the majority of writers are introverts. Not all of us, of course. Generalisations are dangerous.

I believe that we introverts (yes, I am one) look at the world differently, and that those of us called to be writers possibly do so even more. I imagine most of us are avid people watchers. Otherwise how could we create characters that our readers recognise and identify with. Our special ability to observe and analyse human behaviour puts us in a position to be able to offer our unique observations, insights and analyses to our audience in a format that can invite the reader to look at his/her world in a new way.

We observe leaders in our communities and in the world offering their opinions, their values and their agendas in overt ways. They use speech, persuasion, and even coercion to bring others to their point of view. Their influence is observable and often quantifiable. And that becomes the benchmark we use to gauge success as leaders. We judge who can call themselves leaders by the observable influence they wield. We label someone a leader based on his/her overt behaviour. Leaders are those in the public eye. Right? But soon they are replaced by other ‘leaders’. Their influence is often short-lived.

My sense is that writers observe more keenly and analyse more deeply than the rest of the world. Often those thoughts do not get overtly challenged because they are not dispersed aloud, or with enough force, for the masses to hear. But those thoughts, observations and analyses find their way into what we write, whether it is a factual essay or a piece of fiction. We take the ‘stories’ we see and hear and give them a voice. We reveal the people behind the ‘story’. And we offer new ways of looking at both the stories and the people living them. Our scribblings show human nature through new eyes, suggest alternate ways of judging situations and interactions, offer creative solutions to common problems, for individuals as well as groups, even societies. Sometimes we create our own societies in order to allow a perspective that would not be possible in a known culture.

Readers have an opportunity to respond to our offerings without the interference of what I call ‘mainstream chatter’. They can digest what they read on its own merit. And I believe that can change thoughts and opinions, and eventually, behaviours. It can, and I believe does, expand the world view of our audience.

Writers are so often plagued by the sense that we have no influence, that we reach no one, that we get lost between the cracks. We are wracked by self-doubt. Perhaps it is time to set that destructive thought on its ear. Perhaps we have far more influence than we suspect. Perhaps we are much more effective agents for change than we give ourselves credit for. Just because we do not have people clamouring for our direction does not mean we are ineffectual.

Don’t they say still waters run deep? So do our thoughts – and the written words that are born from them. We may not see observable results, but I believe the effects, though subtle, are there and infuse public opinion in ways that bring long term change. We will never get credit for it, but as introverts, do we really want that?

The pen IS mightier than the sword. Believe it.

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Yvonne Hertzberger is a Contributing Author at Indies Unlimited and author of Back From Chaos and Through Kestrel’s Eyes, Books One and Two of Earth’s Pendulum, an Epic Fantasy trilogy. For more information please see the IU Bio page and her blog at  http:/yvonnehertzberger.com[subscribe2]

Author: Yvonne Hertzberger

Yvonne Hertzberger is a native of the Netherlands who immigrated to Canada in 1950. She is an alumna of The University of Waterloo, with degrees in psychology and Sociology. Her Fantasy trilogy, ‘Earth’s Pendulum’ has been well received. Learn more about Yvonne at her blog and her Amazon author page. View all posts by Yvonne Hertzberger