I’ve been working on a book for years………. More recently, I hired a book writing coach. She’s brilliant! In the short time I’ve been working with her I feel challenged, excited, and engaged. After a recent session, she has challenged me to find my present narrator.
An interesting gift I have is that many times when people start to describe something, I’ll then see a cartoon. So, as she described to me what that could look like, I began to see Burl Ives’s character Sam, from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer come alive before me! Sam was telling the story of Rudolf’s life and often had comments or remarks about the choices that Rudolf either made or was about to make.
My writing coach let me know that my inner narrator was alive and well and is already ready to step in. She invited me to create space and NOT to try to force it, that it will come and it will flow.
I began to imagine this inner narrator that I think I haven’t met. Certainly I hope she isn’t a snowman with a goutee, top hat and vest, but maybe she is?! A more modern example is Phoebe Waller-Bridge in Fleabag. She frequently pauses and lets the audience into the story, with a court-side view of what is happening, what is about to happen or would might happen given a certain set of circumstances. The character Phoebe plays is quite endearing and part of it is because of these intimate moments she shares with her audience.
Day-to-day life is not a cartoon, movie or play, but it doesn’t mean we don’t have a narrator with its own script providing commentary along the way. I suppose my inner critic might fulfill that role, but I think it’s more than that. My narrator has also been my cheerleader, my coach, my guide. It lets me know when a choice I’m about to make may not be for my highest and best. It reminds me that when I’m feeling separate from my fellow man, that that narrative is untrue.
Today I posted on social media that everything we want is on the other side of fear. My belief is that my narrator is not afraid and knows that I am so much more capable than my inner critic allows me to believe. And when I work with a coach, surround myself with others who are also taking steps forward, and get honest with myself, I find that courage within to make my next move.
“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”
–Dale Carnegie