Making the mundane extraordinary?

[hopewrites]

This idea was slow in coming to me. My friend is in a literature class and one assignment is to write a micro-short-story about something in their life. And in talking with this friend the assignment came up and they lamented that too many people didnt know what adventures they had lived through.
As I was mulling this conversation over I was reminded of the dismay my X felt when he found out about the size of my extended family. He came from two only children and his grandparents did not survive much of his childhood. For him the idea of 30(at the time) first cousins and 150(at the time) second cousins and 300(at the time) third cousins, all of whom I knew (maybe not well, but I knew them) was extraordinary to him. That I had Grandparents living, and had even known some of my great grandparents, was extraordinary to him. But all of these things were as mundane as peanut butter and jelly to me.


so my question is, how do we recognize what is extraordinary in our lives so that we know what stories to tell others?

 

[HareBrain]

Interesting question. But I'm not sure an awareness of how your life is unusual should necessarily inform what you choose to write about. If you come from a huge extended family, that (and its effect on you) will probably work itself into your writing anyway, and will probably make more impact because it comes naturally into the story you want to tell, not because you've deliberately decided to make a feature of it.

 

[Jake Reynolds]

Not to mention the scores of award winning 'literary' novels about mind numbingly tragic normalcy.

 

[hopewrites]

well that's the thing. I read a lot of fantasy, and since I haven't flown on or talked to a dragon I just assume my life is hum-drum. But when I tell people about it, they look at me like I've sprouted tentacles or something.

Like when I found out my mom had a pet spider monkey as a kid, or when I found out my grandfather knew Walt Disney, they both gave me a "meh" face when I asked for details.
I know I've done the same thing for events in my life that I didnt think were that extraordinary and other people do.

what I was wondering was, is there a way to tell them apart? how do I know what is exciting in my life if I dont find my life exciting?

 

[mosaix]

how do I know what is exciting in my life if I dont find my life exciting?

Probably only with the benefit if hindsight.

There were a couple of things about my childhood that I took for granted that, looking back, if I'd mentioned to my school friends would have brought looks of disbelief.

And I don't think this applies only to 'exciting' things, either.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

It is more to do with the telling than the event - anything can be made exciting.

 

[Dozmonic]

This is true. I remember at college, one of out teachers got slightly annoyed about something some of the students were doing, when they kept doing it he just gave an irate shout to stop fiddling with the monitors or whatever they were doing. Not a great story, nothing exceptional to tell, forgotten to most people within ten seconds of the event.

However, knowing there was nothing else to talk about during lunch, one of the other guys in the college transformed it into an epic tale. "You'll never BELIEVE what old Mr X was like earlier! We were playing with the monitors and you could see him frown in annoyance. We should have stopped, but we were so bored... we did it again. My God, he EXPLODED. One moment he was boring old Mr X, the next he was a fire breathing dragon. Harry was sat right in front of him and I still don't think he's recovered his hearing yet. Oi, Harry? HARRY? See! Mr X was MENTAL!"

 

[James Coote]

Maybe it is more to do with what makes the character who they are.

So if you were Walt Disney's postman and all you ever talked about with him was the weather, then that is hardly remarkable

Equally, things are relative. An event that might be life changing for one person, may be mundane for someone else

 

[Brian G Turner]

so my question is, how do we recognize what is extraordinary in our lives so that we know what stories to tell others?

*Everything* is extraordinary. Really. When you think about it.

Death in Pratchett's Hogather: "Human beings make life so interesting. Do you know, that in a universe so full of wonders, they have managed to invent boredom. "

 

[TL Rese]

so my question is, how do we recognize what is extraordinary in our lives so that we know what stories to tell others?

i think a part of it is knowing your audience. usually, people perceive stuff that they don't experience daily as "extraordinary". an ER doctor will think that saving lives is the usual, but that living abroad and working in the movies is "extraordinary" - while the one who travels abroad, etc. will perceive the doc's life as "extraordinary." at least, that's me and my friend's perceptions of each other (and no, i'm not the ER doctor =P).

 

[Glen]

A change of context might something mundane more extraordinary. Like finding the fixings for a sandwich in my fridge (which I just did, ham and mustard on wholemeal, v nice) is fairly mundane, but if I lost my job it might not be so mundane. If I was in a developing country it might seem like a luxury. If I was in a refugee camp that act might seem truly extraordinary.

That might help with the question of how to use in storytelling. A dry barrel of ships biscuit might seem mundane to most, but an extraordinary find for Crusoe.

 

[Grimbear]

Bad writing can turn the most amazing, world-shattering events into a turgid pit of deathly boredom.

It's our task to do the opposite of the above