How Many Stories Have I Walked Past?

I saw this quote by Orson Scott Card, and it made me stop and wonder. Wonder if it was true, wonder if "good writers" really pick up on that many stories in a day, and wonder if I have fallen into the "most people" who don't see any.

I suppose "most people" would qualify as seeing one story — their own. In fact, it is probably their own story that eclipses the rest of the stories happening all around them. A type of tunnel vision, perhaps, that is not always a narcissistic, helicopter parent, micromanaging boss, bad thing. Hyper focus that results in the next breakthrough invention, diplomatic achievement, artistic expression or social reformation. Yet, for each one of those things there comes of time of sharing with others, the literal telling of the story — which apparently, most people miss.

All this wondering has led me to try an experiment, to see how many stories I can actually "see" in a day. For example, I was recently in a gym where many gymnastic classes were going on at the same time. That controlled chaos is a story — how is that managed? Quick observations revealed an overload of stories. In one corner a parent sharply corrects a very young child. "Do it the right way or we are going home," the parent says. In another corner, a lone gymnast repeats the same trick on the parallel bars, over and over.  Personal goal? Competition coming up? And who is that bundle of energy leading the toddlers through a maze of jumping and climbing? Not a complete thought among the observations, but plenty of story sparks. Fiction of all kinds (zombies doing gymnastics?), athletic profiles, gym management articles, advice for parents of young gymnasts, how a balance beam is made — a year's worth of writing in 5 minutes of hyper focus — of living in the moment as a writer.