disagreement with a bestselling author
Photo by Greta Pichetti on Unsplash
Over the holidays, I watched a show called Ice Airport Alaska.
I’d imagine you could make an interesting show about any airport…
(I once saw a fight break out between two employees in an airport food court)
But we all know that, just like everything is bigger in Texas, everything is more intense in Alaska. So setting the show there just makes sense.
Here’s the thing, though:
I’d bet good money that the real-life events are not anywhere NEAR as intense as they seem on the show.
But when you add in dramatic music, pull quotes from people about how “such-and-such event is a HUGE deal for us,” and cut to a commercial break at the point of highest tension…
You can make just about anything seem like a monumental event.
Around the same time, I was also reading A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller.
He opens the book with this:
“If you watched a movie about a guy who wanted a Volvo and worked for years to get it, you wouldn’t cry at the end when he drove off the lot, testing the windshield wipers.”
Then, a few sentences later:
“Nobody cries at the end of a movie about a guy who wants a Volvo.”
I’m a big fan of Donald Miller. I think he’s a fantastic writer. And I loved this book. HOWEVER…
I strongly disagree with the whole “you wouldn’t cry about a guy who wanted a Volvo” thing.
Don’s point is that, if you want to live a meaningful life, you have to live a meaningful story. And I agree with that.
But I think that even a story about a guy buying a Volvo can be meaningful.
Obviously, if the extent of the story is…
“Craig wanted a Volvo, so he worked as an accountant for 2 years to save enough money. Then he bought it.”
… well yeah. No one is going to give a shit.
But, just like Ice Airport Alaska adds intense music and quotes to make a story more dramatic, we can do the same thing with this Volvo situation.
WHY does Craig want a Volvo?
Maybe it reminds him of his Dad, who passed away a few years ago.
What is Craig’s job like? Is there any conflict there?
Maybe his boss is holding him back from a promotion, because he doesn’t like Craig for some mysterious reason.
As Craig is saving money for the Volvo — what does his life look like?
Does he spend his nights eating instant ramen and watching movies instead of going to bars with friends?
And when Craig finally gets that Volvo — what does it mean to him?
Is it a connection to his dad that he hasn’t experienced in years? Does he cry as he pulls out of the dealership?
What will Craig do now that he has achieved his (surface-level) goal of actually getting the Volvo?
(And his deeper goal of feeling a connection with his dad?)
Here’s my point:
If you’re a writer, entrepreneur, or just a human being (and I’m going to guess that you’re at least one of those things)…
You don’t need to have some outrageous story to be worth listening to.
Because sometimes, it’s not the surface-level events that are important or interesting.
What’s important is what was going on beneath the surface…
WHY we were motivated to do a certain thing…
What we felt when we finally accomplished our goal…
How we handled the roadblocks that got in the way…
And how we express those things in our writing.
It’s not about the Volvo. It’s about Craig wanting to connect with his dad. It’s about being human.
Remember that the next time you’re writing something for your business and racking your brain about what to say.
You don’t need to come up with the most interesting story in the world. If you can give us a peek into your inner world…
Show us WHY certain things in your story are important…
And share a bit of yourself with us…
Sometimes that’s enough.
Just something to think about.
What’s your take? Do you give a shit about Craig? Or do you think he should get over his daddy issues and buy an F-150 instead?
Or, more seriously…
What do you think about the idea that your story doesn’t have to be unique to be meaningful?
Is it legit or nah?
Robert
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