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Transcript

The Most Important Skill · The Daily Writer

• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Daily Writer, where we share a lesson each day to help you cultivate the habits for creative success.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: There are lots of skills that are important for writers.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Relationship building, networking, productivity, creative thinking, organization, and editing are just a few that come to mind.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: However, there's one skill that trumps them all.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: It also happens to be the oldest communication skill in the world, and that is storytelling.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: For thousands of years, humans have told stories, whether it's through the epic poetry of Homer, hieroglyphics written on the walls of Egyptian tombs, the ancient stories of the Bible, print books that were developed just a few hundred years ago, or the podcast and blog posts that we have today.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: But what's the purpose of storytelling, especially when it comes to fiction?
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: What's the use of engaging in stories that aren't even real?
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Well, the novelist Tim O'Brien shed some light on this question.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: He said, that's what fiction is for.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's for getting at the truth when the truth isn't sufficient for the truth.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: We love stories because they're a way to understand the truth.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: We humans are a species that likes indirect communication.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: We're much more prone to accept the truth when it comes indirectly through storytelling.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: Our primary job as writers is to tell the truth.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: We do that through nonfiction, novels, short stories, biographies, TV and movies, speeches and presentations, and every other form of writing.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: And the most important way to do that is by telling stories.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: So when it comes to writing skills, there's nothing more important than learning to tell a powerful story.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's a direct line to the human heart.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for listening to today's episode.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: If you've been listening to this show for any length of time, you know that one of the four practices of a great writer is creativity.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: And in order to stay creative, you've got to have great input.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: And that's where writing prompts come in.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: A writing prompt is a sentence or two that helps you break through creative blocks, brainstorm new ideas, and get back into a state of flow.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: Writing prompts are an awesome creative tool for journaling, storytelling, creative writing, stress relief, social media posts, and so much more.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: But the great news is that you don't have to create these yourself.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: We've put together an amazing package of 365 daily writing prompts.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: So every day for the next year, you can have a shot of inspiration delivered straight to your inbox.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: You can check it out at dailywriterlife.com slash writing prompts.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks, and I'll see you tomorrow.