On deep sea diving, octopi and finding our hidden stories

There are ten minutes in the breathtaking film, My Octopus Teacher, that encapsulate the full scope of my love of writing and meditation.

I often ask the writers who take my Story Alchemy classes to watch these ten minutes because not only are the diver’s underwater adventures staggeringly beautiful, but they are instructive for any creative explorer compelled to plumb the depths of everyday busyness in search of meaning—and rich material to work with.  

In the documentary, there is the world above the surface of the ocean that stretches to the horizon and then there are the infinite mysteries below. When our world-weary diver takes to the sea one day he discovers a creature covered in shells. He swims closer to take a look only to have it dart away. But his curiosity is piqued. He resolves to return every day to see what he can discover about this underwater being.

The diver swims to the chilly bottom in search of the octopus and finds that he sometimes startles it away when he approaches too quickly. On other days he gets his approach just right–a slow, smooth and easy swim that doesn’t unnerve his new companion. And so he returns regularly and a magical relationship grows that changes his life forever.

And here is the secret for our lives as writers and deep sea divers into the rich and wondrous realms of psyche and nature. It lies in our intention to return to the world every day to see what exists beneath our busyness. We begin to notice images that speak to us, phrases that people say that play on repeat like music in our mind, a sense of presence given off by a river or a tree that seems to want to convey something vital.

This is our job: to notice and nurture what invites our curiosity and to not rush too quickly to try to capture it (counter-intuitive, I know!).

Our job is to relate with it and wait and see what wants to be revealed. This is where to find some of the hidden stories of our lives 

The Beauty of Being a Ghost

I have always loved being a book coach and ghostwriter because I have the privilege of knowing my clients intimately and witnessing the trials, the beauty and the unexpected wonder that can fill a life.

To write well means that I have to listen well. I need to learn to see the bigger picture of my clients’ lives and the way that the particular story we are writing fits into it.

Whether it was the horror of escaping a violent civil war that tore a family apart and rendered their memories mute (until the writing process allowed them to piece their lives back together again) or the way a female Episcopalian minister-to-be unexpectedly claimed her spiritual authority in Buddhism, I discovered the story by listening for not only what was said, but also for what was not said. 

I had to become curious about the gaps in the story. And I always welcomed the times when someone felt compelled to tell me a story again (and again), because details often shifted each time—not because someone was being untruthful, but because there is so much to a memory or a moment that it can take many tellings to truly see it all.

And so we return to the rhythms of our own lives to learn what wants to reveal itself. This requires equal parts noticing and listening and being patient and writing and, as Rilke famously wrote in his Letters to a Young Poet, learning to “Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”

Here are five ways for you to discover some of your hidden stories:

What captures your attention?

Each day before you go to bed, take no more than five minutes to write down three things that captured your attention that day. Use the ‘First Thought, Best Thought’ method of writing the first three things that come to mind. You’ll be amazed by how quickly you begin to get attuned to new observations.

What is on repeat?

Notice if there are themes that cycle through your nighttime lists. Does nature seem to play a big role? Or do relationships take center stage? Has an injustice made your blood boil? Or have mundane moments–roadwork outside your office window–made it hard to think? Related topics point to bigger stories that are begging for your attention.

Activate your curiosity

Whether you notice themes or not, kick your curiosity up a notch. Take the next step and explore the topic further. What do you want to understand? Do you simply need to learn more about a given system? Heartbreak over clearcuts near where I lived in Portland, Oregon made me want to learn everything I could about trees, so I signed up for Urban Forestry 101. This informed my novel Tree Dreams.

Or is it more internal, an inner dialogue that needs to play itself out on the page for an emotional truth to come to light?

Make lists

Write down everything you’d like to learn. Make a list of five or ten things that you’re really curious about. You can divide your lists into specifics (I am going to research more about trees in my neighborhood) or general categories (I know I want to learn about forest activism). Either way, lists help to set the wheels in motion.

Give yourself time

Give yourself a week or month and work with your “To Explore” list every day (or at least a few days a week). Write down everything you discover. And before you know it you are deep sea diving into stories hidden in plain sight that can become a blog post, an essay, a book or a whole new direction in your life.

What’s Ahead for Story Alchemy

I’m in this very process myself at the moment as I make changes to Alchemy. My online writing classes began as a 6-month book writing course that I called Literary Alchemy, which I launched at the start of COVID.

These classes truly were the light in the darkness these last pandemic-filled years. To my surprise and delight, requests started coming for more classes, shorter classes, a community.

And so I have been listening and learning what wants to reveal itself. So Literary Alchemy is becoming Story Alchemy in September, with a community membership and more classes, to embrace all of the ways that stories weave their way through our lives (and not only in books). I can’t wait to share it with you!