Tell your story the way you’d tell it to a friend.
That sounds easy to do, but lots of us have trouble getting that natural language on to the page. That won’t happen if you, literally, tell your story to a friend.
One client tells all the stories she wants in her book to her husband. They record the stories and transcribe them. Later she cleans up the grammar, but the natural language stays.
If you’re having trouble getting your stories to sound natural, that’s a good technique to use. Tell the story to a friend and record the event. Then transcribe and edit.
I’m not talking about “dictating” your story. That usually kills the natural language.
What if you don’t have a friend you can talk to readily? You can call a friend and record your story. Or you can do what another client does. She imagines a good friend sitting across from her while they share a glass of wine. The only problem is that sometimes she forgets to turn on her recorder.
Bottom Line
When someone who knows you reads your writing, especially your stories, you want them to say, “Why that sounds just like you!”
Your Turn
How do you get your stories sounding natural?