lying for fun and profit (originally posted 11/1/03)
a very early post, resurrected. because I'm busy trying to stay focused on this chapter.
storytelling is about being creative, or, to put it more bluntly, lying. A successful liar storyteller is somebody who a) has a really good memory; b) knows the value of detail; c) can make the listener want to believe what he or she has to say. Suspension of disbelief is what makes storytelling work.
Here's a good exercise I use when teaching. Have people make three statements about themselves, one of which must be a huge whopper of a lie. For example, Louie writes down:
1. I once was questioned by the FBI because they thought I was connected to a cigarette highjacking gang.
2. When my mother was growing up, she lived across the street from a man who had no arms who had a wife who had no legs.
3. Last summer I got a cool job: I was a roadie for Garth Brooks.
Louie has had an interesting life, but one of these is a lie. To survive the game, he must be ready to answer questions. It's not enough to say, yeah, it was cool, when asked about being a roadie. He's got to have the details down, ala:
Take a shot, it's fun. Make up a really outrageous claim and then back it up. Oh and here's a hint: if Louie knows nothing about Garth Brooks or concert tours, then setting up aWell, my only job was to keep his hats in shape and ready to go. He's got this whole setup in the bus, just for the hats. Brushes, spot cleaners, molds, the whole thing. And it was my job to have them ready for him, off stage, for when he soaked through a brim -- you would not believe how that guy sweats. I almost got fired in Amarillo when a huge guy --must have been three hundred pounds, and he smelled like a dog kennel-- barged back stage waving a toilet plunger and nabbed Garth's favorite white suede ten gallon cowboy hat. I thought he was a janitor but it turns out he's this nutcase who follows the band around Texas, just begging to Garth to let him play in the band. His name is Hewey Red Dog Cross, and he makes music with that plunger, you've got to hear it to believe it.