So there is a gaggle of guys in prison all serving long-term sentences. They’ve been together so long they feel like they can almost complete one another’s sentences. During free time the long-timers often gather on benches in the yard to gab and tell jokes.
If you were to sit in on a session, it would go something like this. A guy would stand up and announce, “Number 21,” and everyone would burst into laughter. Then another guy would grab the floor as he enthusiastically chirped out, “Hey, guys. Number 3.” The group would roar. One guy would laugh so much his jaws hurt. Another would have tears from laughing so hard.
One day a new guy arrived at the prison to serve his sentence. New guy found himself in the group taking in the strange interaction. Someone belted out “Number 116,” and everyone laughed. Then another would offer up what seemed like a random number, and the response was always the same. Belly laughs.
New guy asked the big burly guy next to him what was going on. Burly guy explained, “We’ve heard these jokes so many times we don’t actually have to tell the joke anymore. We assigned them numbers, so we just take turns repeating the number. They’re still hilarious.” New guy was intrigued.
Next a squirrelly, short dude with a totally shaved head jumped up, stammered a bit, and finally pushed out, “Number 36.” The group was silent. Not a sound. Burly guy rolled his eyes and shook his head.
New guy leaned over and asked burly guy, “What just happened?”
Burly guy covered his mouth as if to whisper to new guy. “That’s Steve. He just can’t tell a joke.”
Some people can’t tell a joke.
But some people can spin a yarn and keep everyone’s attention. Their words paint pictures in the air as they fill the mind’s eye with images, action, and storyline. What do good storytellers do that the rest of us don’t?
There’s no formula, but here’s a mini method to make your meaning more memorable: Inspect your words for action and adjectives.
Action. When you read your final draft, find couch potato verbs and swap them for verbs that will burn some calories. Make sure you can picture movement in your mind.
Adjectives. Add personality to your text by the way you describe things. If it’s a big, blue, overstuffed chair, don’t settle for “chair.” Picture your nouns and make sure you write what you see.
Action and adjectives are the vibrant colors of word pictures. Consider this example:
How I write:
It was wonderful. Jane realized she was capable of greatness. To see that little girl’s eyes light up was amazing. She knew she could do it.
How I write if I want to paint a word picture:
Jane’s face widened as her toothy smile took over her face. Her huge brown eyes twinkled with excitement. She had seen herself as a loser, but now realized just the opposite.
- Only add as much drama as is true to your personality.
- Be who you are. You decide what’s over the top for you.
- Even though you know college words, you can still use 8th grade words.
- Prod the five senses.
- Connect with an emotion.
If it’s a story worth telling, you may as well paint a picture in someone else’s mind. It’s not words alone. There are other important elements to your delivery. But why use vanilla words if the rainbow is an option?