The Story Industry focusses on story, plot and character. This is both understandable and helpful. But this structural obsession has taken us into a rather anodyne place. For many writers, the Writing bit, at its heart, or should we say soul, is not only about story, plot and character. It’s about using this to find a truth, an authenticity to a story which allows us to see something of ourselves or the world in a new or clearer way.
A story’s truth can be illusive. If every story starts somewhere deep in the subconscious forest, you’re left not knowing how you got there or with any clue as to a way out. You stare at your first draft like it's the weird stranger on the tube who sidles up and whispers something without sense of logic in your ear - You want to say, “I don’t know you, and I’m not sure I want to, and I certainly have no idea what you’re on about.” You walk away from the first draft and spend a long time wondering what it’s about.
As a fully qualified coach, I specialise in story coaching, as a subsector of creative coaching. One of the things that fascinates me about coaching is the notion that the client has the answers to even the deepest problems and as coaches, we have a toolkit that unlocks these answers. I wondered, if the meaning of a story is locked tight in the subconscious, then could coaching help surface it? With the help of Hugh Reynolds at Management Futures, experienced coaches Phil Hayes and Pippa Gough, a dozen volunteer writers and sixty hours of coaching later, I can announce that the answer is a definitive yes.
Story coaching is a pretty astounding process to experience or watch. It isn’t mentoring, it doesn’t offer advice, and it’s not teaching, it doesn’t tell you stuff. It’s not editorial or even really dramaturgical, it’s not offering alternatives to what you have already written. It’s fully focussed on helping a writer find the story they want to write that drives toward the meaning they want to convey. In this way, it feels like magic.
Phil Hayes is a published author with thirty five years of leadership development and senior executive coaching under his belt, including the BBC, NHS, national sports bodies, governments and FTSE 100 executives. So I look to him for the theory on this –
“Research shows self-discovered learning is the most effective in creating behaviour change. We coach on the discovery process for the individual writer, following their lead and enabling them to think wider and deeper about their writing. We avoid spurious advice-giving. We help the writer to clarify for themselves their ideas and ambitions, identify critical creative moments and approaches, and accelerate progress on their writing projects whilst increasing quality and satisfaction.
Rather miraculously Story Coaching can be a guide through that subconscious forest and back into the light. It’s a collaborative journey of discovery, designed to help writers unearth the central meaning of their stories and unlock their full creative potential, diving deep into the creative process and significantly shortening the development journey. Through probing questions, supportive feedback, and constructive challenges, it can reconnect writers with their purpose and the underlying truth of their story.
More from Phil –
“The coach tunes in fully to the writer, activating intense sensory acuity around the writer’s language, thought patterns, emotions and bodily responses. The writer experiences being fully ‘seen and heard’, feeling deeply respected and safe in an atmosphere of unconditional trust. This creates for them a level of psychological safety that allows them to relax into their own journey of exploration, enhancing their capacity to think. The supportive atmosphere also allows them to open up easily and without resistance to challenges and searching questions from the coach.”
The writers on the research programme talked about finding clarity, focus, fresh perspectives, connection and understanding. It seems to offer –
Solutions to craft or process challenges.
Ways of unblocking creativity.
Deeper more meaningful story impact.
Uncovering of themes and truths in a story.
A faster development process.
It’s also able to interrogate and unpick creative process issues, helping artists understand their own creativity better, spot where it’s stifled and where it flows, and importantly, to uncover why. More of this in a later post.
If you would like to find out more, have a chat about trying a session, or have us come along and chat to your group or company, do get in touch.
Comments