The Most Difficult Thing About Writing For Me.

Over the years, I have had more than just a little difficulty with writing. I have preferred to read. I love to read. When I told my brother that is 18 months younger that I had started to write, he said it didn't surprise him as I had quite the imagination when we were young.

I don't remember much about my writing from grade school through high school as I was too busy with other things back then.

In college and graduate school, my writing continued to have lots of red pencil/pen marks for grammar and punctuation. Not so much for spelling. Then there were comments about no beginning and no end to my writing.

In my work life, I have done a lot of technical writing. Budgets, reports, requests for proposals, applications, resumes, and curriculum vitae. Usually no problem and sometimes compliments on this form of writing.

I know there are great Native American authors. That is not me. I grew up with a lot of stories from the culture. Stories that are teachings; teaching lessons, morals, and values. And stories just for fun.

As I was taught at a young age, those stories didn't always have a beginning, a middle, or an end. Instead, the story could start anywhere and could easily end with something you have to figure out.

An example: A young Lakota woman was interpreting a story for her grandmother, who was speaking in Lakota. The story ended with Iktomi getting covered with a blanket and beat with sticks and the old woman was laughing so hard that it looked like she almost fell off of her chair.

When I tell that story, I get similar reactions from my audience. Yes. That is the end I say, now: "What do you think it is all about?" People have different takeaways from that story. And every time I leave the end off of a story people are confused.

So then, if I write like I tell stories, it will not work out in English storytelling. I often will write a story and then go back and see if I have a beginning, middle, and end to my writing. Sometimes I do, sometimes I do not.

I have had one woman tell me not to tell the story the old woman told through her granddaughter. She didn't think it was a good idea for the guests at the mental health crisis shelter I work at. She wouldn't tell me why. I assumed it triggered something for her.

I made sure staff were aware that she may have been triggered. Since I am only there for one day a week, I decided I would not tell that story again there.

In my Native American culture, certain stories are meant to be told with snow on the ground and when it gets dark. I think it means that there is more time in the winter and after dark to tell stories as there is a lot of work that needs to get done at other times of the year and during the day.

My mother told us just one nanaboozhoo story in the middle of summer when we were picking berries. My aunt, my mother's sister insinuated that she may have made it up. She talked about how the skunk got the white stripe and the smell like no other.

Since then I have heard other skunk stories.

Growing up in the Native American culture has helped me to be a better storyteller in the culture, but not so much of a writer of English. If you grew up similarly, it is a good idea to check your writing for a beginning, a middle, and an ending to your stories.