Editor’s note (11/12/18): Since writing this article, Anecdoting.com and Writcreate.com were both combined with ChadRobertParker.com. Now blog content for “Anecdoting” is simply found in the Story Prompts section of this website.
Blogging has become an essential part of being a Published Author. In the Information Age people want to know not only about the creative work itself, but what is going on behind the scenes. My blog on this website is an attempt to document my Author activities. I hope this blog at ChadRobertParker.com will prove both interesting and informative. The other way I plan to make my blogging activities more inviting is to share with all of you a different kind of blogging concept. I also blog about stories on Anecdoting.com.
Anecdoting.com is a place where I share a writing prompt each week that triggers a memory. What I love most about this blogging activity is that it is interactive. Not only will I share one of my own stories each week for your enjoyment, I invite you to share one of your own with me. Don’t be shy and don’t worry if you just want to read stories for a while just to get the hang of it. No one will know if you choose only to be an onlooker. The more stories people share, however, the more fun it will be as a story sharing environment. Sharing stories among friends and people we meet is the earliest form of entertainment. It is at the center of building a community with folklore passed down from generation to generation. It is a great fun way to develop a culture and get to know each other. That is the type of blogging that will be most enjoyable to me. I will often refer to my blogging activities at Anecdoting.com when I think of stories to share on this blog knowing that story is the best way to convey information. It makes it memorable, enjoyable, and relatable.
A week ago I attended the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. I loved hearing other people’s stories. What struck me the most about the experience was not so much that professional storytellers had great stories to tell, but average persons like me had great stories as well. Granted it takes a lot of work to craft a story into an amusing art form, but when you have a great memory of something that occurred in your life you are the one who has all of the minute details of that instance, so you are the best person to tell that story. We even had breakout sessions at the conference portion teaching people like you and me–who are more curious about storytelling than we are about getting up on a stage ourselves–how to tell the stories that are inevitably in each of us. One of the presenters/teachers had a set of games that prompted everyday people to share moments of drama, hilarity, or intrigue from their past. And we did share those moments with one another, very well, on the spot. Well, that’s exactly what Anecdoting.com does, only it is free. It is a story sharing community to participate in and/or observe with continual story prompts and everyday life story shares. You will be surprised what interesting stories come from everyday life.
In the past I would have deemed sharing about my writing activities as keeping a Writer’s Journal, and it would consist mostly with writings and notes for and to myself. In the present you get to see the fun of developing stories and forming good writing habits of regularly putting fingers to keyboard. But I will spare you the hazards of the occupation by sharing all of my tedious record keeping at my business page at WritCreate.com. As a blog, behind the scenes at ChadRobertParker.com, I will need to be more entertaining than that, because just like everyone else I will have a larger audience in mind and I will want to put my best foot forward. Problem is, if jotting down the minutiae bores me it will most certainly bore you. Solution: while there are definitely interesting happenings as I prepare to launch my first book, Sterling Bridge, and I will continue to share blog posts about the writing journey along the way here, if you really like stories, goings-on of writers, and reading blogs in general, I propose a more casual setting. Come join me for simple story sharing at Anecdoting.com. I’m certain you will be able to relate to at least one topic and story. I’m sure a story of your own will come to mind. I hope you will join me in making blogging more fun for you and me to engage in together.
