This Friday, StoryCorps encourages people to participate in the National Day of Listening. For all you aspiring storytellers, this is a wonderful way to explore living narrative. It’s a simple process of interviewing a friend or a loved one. StoryCorps provides a helpful guide on how to conduct your interview, with tips on structuring an interview guide and a handy tool to help you come up with questions. My daughter Jordan and I participated and posted an excerpt from our interview on her website.

Girl Employed

My daughter is quite good with my iPhone. And a pink backpack. And the hustle and bustle of navigating airports.

Jordan Limelight

I traveled some 10,000 miles to start a novel — roaming through Ireland for inspiration. I was reluctant to write the story I knew I really had to tell. By some weird coincidence, I mentioned the neglected story to a few colleagues, and they went wild. I mentioned the story I’d been writing and they acted respectfully. So … I’m changing course. Can you guess the more exciting story?

I sit in a beautiful, open atrium overlooking a garden with tall trees lined with ivy. Inside, the walls are bedecked in mint green draperies and subtle colors that accentuate the view. Perrott’s restaurant, inside the Hayfield Manor Hotel, is a dreamy and delicious way to end a long day.

Sitting across from me is a family of five. The three boys all have rosy, high cheeks and brilliant blue eyes. The eldest, a boy of about Luc’s age, is celebrating a birthday and his parents have surprised him with tickets to a football game on Sunday. He is the envy of his brothers. Watching this unfold makes me homesick for my own family. But I am making great progress on my self-imposed writer’s hermitage. I churned out another 2,500 words today on the train ride from Dublin to Cork. It was a beautiful ride, and I plan to take in more of it on the return tomorrow. I have nearly two chapters complete of my book. Tomorrow, I shall finish up and make a good go at chapter 3. (more…)

It is now less than four days from launch time for me. I head to Ireland on Saturday. The objective is twofold: (1) start my next book — a novel, and (2) drink a lot of Guinness.

It won’t take much effort to do the latter. Many have asked how I plan to do the former. Going away to start a big writing project is one of my favorite exercises. I hole myself up in the morning and disallow myself the opportunity to go out and explore until I’ve met my daily writing quota. For this project, I aim to return to the states with no less than 12,000 words in the can. That means each day I will be writing an average of 2,000-2,500 words. I’ve also allowed myself one day to rewrite. Even if you don’t plan to visit a foreign country, the quota system is a great way to discipline yourself and make real progress on a big project.

With the new year just hours away, it’s time to make a resolution to yourself to improve how you tell your story. I spend a lot of time on this site discussing brands and storytelling. Today we address the most important brand in your life: you.

Whether you’re writing a resume, an email to a colleague or a post to your blog, your goal should be to tell your story in each snippet of prose. Sadly, too many interesting people short-change themselves when they write. They miss the opportunity to convey their character and the essence of their story. Here are five simple things you can do to bring out your brand narrative. (more…)