How I became a storyteller

open book
©Mia Salminen 2015

I’ve never been a book reader, and I prefer watching things on TV. If I read something, it isn’t novels. I’ve read a lot of autobiographies, and when I was a child, I read books for kids. The kids’ books were written in Swedish, and they were easy to read, too. I’ve read books in Finnish as well. The book I read the most was a book about Heidi. It was adapted from a movie. I reread it last summer in a day or two. I own some books, but I go to the library when I want to read a book. I own the ‘Lord of the Rings’ book but have never finished it. My late dad bought it for Christmas, and he read it in one evening. It’s too long for my taste. I prefer the movies. The book that I have read by Tolkien is ‘The Hobbit’. I’ve read that a couple of times. I own one in English, but I have also read it in Finnish once. I’m not patient enough to read long books. Unless it’s a fascinating book or an autobiography.

I’ve always wanted to write and was pretty good at it in school. I didn’t want to write a book, as someone thought I would when I said I wanted to write. I wanted writing to be part of something else. The same goes for photography and graphic design. I don’t want to do only one thing. There are different ways to be a raconteur than someone writing books. I became a storyteller after I found my fascination with fan fiction. I didn’t find stories I wanted to read, so I started to write my own. That’s where I shine the most. But writing fiction is only a hobby and doesn’t pay the bills. It’s also a learning curve for learning English, and I don’t need to read books to keep my imagination running. Some might say that reading books teaches you to use words, but you can also learn words by watching movies or TV shows. I want to write with words that anyone can understand. You don’t need fancy words to write a good story. Writing fiction is easier for me than writing about facts.

For example, I struggle with what to write on social media right now. It’s supposed to be in Finnish, but it doesn’t come naturally to me. I’m so used to writing in English, so writing it in my language isn’t easy. The other thing is that Swedish is my mother tongue, so I find it hard to find words to describe something in Finnish. Knowing three languages can sometimes confuse your vocabulary. When I write fiction in English, the inspiration comes quicker, and I could write for hours. But I get stuck when writing about facts about myself and what I want to achieve. The challenging part is writing about it in Finnish. I’m just not a storyteller when it comes to real life. Things would be easier if I could tell a story the way I write fiction. I guess it’s about getting used to things instead of giving up because something is too difficult. You live, learn, and become a better raconteur when you write as often as possible. That’s the way you learn other things in life. That’s how I learned to write in English in the first place. Practice makes you better at what you do.

Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 4

Christmas balls, stars and light part 4
Made with Canva

Day 4

I won’t collapse, even though yesterday’s post didn’t get likes immediately. There can be many reasons, which doesn’t necessarily mean it was terrible. I’m good at keeping it together. There are worse things in the world than no one liking something. Despite being active on social media, I don’t get many likes and even less comments. But I post anyway. Sometimes, people find old posts that were posted ages ago. You never know what happens when you’re on the internet. One thing that I’m good at is keeping things together, and I don’t collapse when things get tough. Life’s disappointments make you stronger, and you can take the heat a little better.

The other four things I’m good at are as follows. Two of them are thanks to my late parents.

Cooking and baking

I used to help my mother in the kitchen. That way, I learned how to cook and bake. It had been a big help. My dad didn’t cook, so I cooked for the both of us after my mother died. Sometimes, I try new recipes, and sometimes I succeed, but sometimes I do not. For example, I once tried to make chocolate cheesecake, but it became all gooey and too sweet. I followed the recipe to the letter, but still, it failed. I have more success in cooking a meal. If I like the food I tried for the first time, I cook them again. Now, when I’m alone, I’m a little lazy to cook, so I either order takeout or buy microwave food. But a home-cooked meal is always better, so I still do that. It’s less expensive to cook your own food. I should learn to make smaller amounts of food, though, now that I only cook for myself.

Driving a car

Everybody probably says they’re a good driver, but I can genuinely say that. I follow the rules and consider other people. I only got my driver’s licence three years ago, but I’ve improved since then. I gained more confidence driving because Dad was with me. You get better the more you drive. The longest trip I’ve driven was to Helsinki last week. I even drove in total darkness on the back home. I couldn’t have done it a few years ago. But because of my dad, I’m more confident behind the wheel.

Writing stories

The first time I wrote stories was in elementary school as school assignments, and I got good grades. As a teenager, I started to write in English, and it hasn’t stopped. I have a vivid imagination. Today, I write fan fiction, primarily real-person fiction. It is good practice to learn writing in English, and I have learned a lot of new words. In Finland, we start to learn English in 3rd or 4th grade. That’s how it was in the 1980s, at least. Writing is a lot of fun, and that’s why it’s my favourite thing of all the things I’m good at.

Using a computer

I might know how to fix a computer, but I’m good at using one. The first computer I used was a Macintosh. I was in 7th grade when we got a computer in the classroom. Computers weren’t common then, and you had to know codes. There were no icons to click on, so it wasn’t easy to use one. I used Windows the most because that’s what our school had. It was only the Macintosh that had icons. The first time I used the Internet was in 1997 when I was in business school. As they say, the rest is history. Kids today have no idea how it was then. It’s good that computers have gotten better over the decades. It is more fun to use computers and the Internet these days. But that’s good because things were so slow before broadband and computer icons. That modem sound still haunts in my head. If you lived in the 1990s, you know what I mean.

I wish I could improve on some other things, but that’s another list.

An optimist jot something down

women writing in a book
Photo: Openverse

Jot down the first thing that comes to your mind.

Daily writing prompt

Sometimes, you don’t want to jot down anything special. You only want to write what comes to your mind—freewriting, if you like. You either do it with a timer, only write during the day, or have a break until you feel like writing something. There are times when I am an optimist, even if sometimes my posts can feel pessimistic. I prefer thinking positively; if I’m upset, it goes away as fast as it came. I don’t want to dwell on the past, but sometimes, old things come up. You can’t do anything about certain things, no matter how much you want to change the past. Life is about moving forward. Hopefully, you learn from your mistakes. If they are mistakes, that is. You should live for today anyway. That’s what I do. The future can be scary, but you must be an optimist to overcome your fears.

Laughter is the best medicine. I love watching old and new comedies, mostly old ones, because they were funny then. From the newer ones, I love Modern Family. I already watched the series once before. My favourite characters are Gloria and Cam. If you know the comedy show, you know who I’m talking about. I also watch comedy movies. Jim Carrey is my favourite funny man. Robin Williams was an old-time favourite. A shame he died, but his spirit still lives on. Laughing makes you feel better, too.

If you do things you like and others say you can’t, then it’s too bad for them. Life isn’t about doing things you don’t like. Everything made me feel bored, which is why I didn’t find what I wanted to be when I grew up. When I finally do, I don’t get to do them. How can I get better at it if I can’t do what I want to do? I wouldn’t have gotten better at English if I hadn’t written in English. I learned English in 5th grade and have significantly improved since then. The same should be done with other stuff, but no luck. I should make up projects on my own. But I’m too lazy to make them up. Or I have no imagination when it comes to that. My imagination is wider when it comes to writing make-up stories. But not to make up a project that could work in reality.

I’ve been thinking about buying a car, but how can I sell my dad’s car, which has at least five faults? I’ve been in a car shop with my dad, so that’s not a problem. But how do they sell cars to women? I’ve heard stories. I don’t know how much it costs to fix the old car. It’s still in my dad’s name. So much to do. My dad isn’t even buried yet. There was a funeral, but his ashes are still not in the ground. Argh, so much to think about. Everything goes so slowly when I have to do it all alone. But maybe it only feels forever when things don’t move along. I only need to be an optimist, and things will get done.

Now I’m hungry, so thank you for reading. Have a nice weekend.