As many of you know, my partner, Sage, is a storyteller and teacher of storytelling here in Toronto. But she also has a podcast in which she shares other people’s stories as told by them. Some are by people she has met in Toronto either through storytelling performances or through her workshops and classes she’s offered over the years. Others, though are complete strangers who had a story they wanted to share.

In just over three weeks, my son, Daegan, and I will be headed to Delhi to spend a week there, and another week in Jaipur. Do you live in or near these cities? Do you have a story you would like to share with the world? Let me know – we can get together and I can record it. Specifically I’m looking for stories from your life or someone in your family (you can tell it for them or I’d love to meet them as well). The only thing that is important is that they have high stakes.  What does that mean?  From Sage’s story submission page:

What do you mean by “high stakes”?
The story must be about something important to you. “I got drunk and got lost” is fun to tell friends at a party, but a high stakes story is the one you tell someone special to you, in an intimate coffeeshop.

High stakes stories usually fit one or more of these points:
* high stakes categories: birth, death, war, fear, crime, struggle, bravery, love, kindness, religion, addiction
* something very important is gained
* something very important is lost
* outside events create a crucial struggle

Low stakes stories that do NOT work:
* while travelling/doing yoga I discovered my life at home is nice, or I should change the path I’m on
* stories of personal transformation that take place largely inside the teller’s head
* “I thought ______, but then realized that actually ____ was true”
* stories that are focused almost entirely on the teller with little mention of other humans

Comment below or contact me if you’ll be in the area and you’d like to meet up to tell your story. Or for that matter, just message me if you’d like to meet even if you don’t have a story to share. I love meeting new people when I travel.