I recently listened to the On the Page podcast hosted by Pilar Alessandra. Her guest was Phil Rosenthal, showrunner and producer for Everybody Loves Raymond.

While leading the writing team for the show, Phil sent his writers home every night to have dinner with their families. His purpose in doing this was for them to return to work the next day with stories ideas from real life. Phil also recommended keeping a journal, from which you can mine story ideas.

I selected the quotes below because they fit with the theme of exploring the world to find stories.

Last Child in the Woods

The subtitle of this book by Richard Louv is “saving our children from nature-deficit disorder.” The premise of the book (from the back cover) is “that direct exposure to nature is essential for a child’s healthy physical and emotional development.”

Some kids don’t want to be organized all the time. They want to let their imaginations run; they want to see where a stream of water takes them.

Last Child in the Woods, p. 31

For a century, children’s early understanding of how cities and nature fit together was gained from the backseat: the empty farm house at the edge of the subdivision; the variety of architecture, here and there; the woods and fields and water beyond the seamy edges–all that was and is still available to the eye. This was the landscape that we watched as children. It was our drive-by movie.

Last Child in the Woods, p. 63

Power of Anecdote – Ira Glass

The power of the anecdote is so great…No matter how boring the material is, if it is in story form…there is suspense in it, it feels like something’s going to happen. The reason why is because literally it’s a sequence of events…you can feel through its form [that it’s] inherently like being on a train that has a destination…and that you’re going to find something.

Ira Glass

Other

If you want to travel fast, travel alone. If you want to go far, travel together

African proverb

When you tell a story you can’t just drive around the block. You have to take the audience somewhere

The Moth