2 Reasons Every Writer Should Tell Their Story Online
A love letter to storytelling
Stories have the power to create magic, connect strangers, inspire people and much more. That’s why for the month of November, I picked the topic of storytelling.
To wrap up this special theme, I’ve invited a special guest to write today’s Post.
has been writing for years and his Substack, , is a goldmine for writers and creators who are looking for inspiration, tools and practical resources to grow online.No wonder it’s about to hit 16,000 subscribers!
Some might argue Tom is my competitor. I actually see him as my collaborator, and today, I’m delighted to welcome him to help us grow our lemon trees because...
Collaboration is acceleration.
A few weeks ago, I asked a dozen students to write about the five toughest moments from their lives. I didn’t know it then, but this would become one of the most emotional experiences I’ve ever had as a coach.
It all started when I taught students how to write their story step-by-step in a training. All was going well until one person’s shaky voice pierced through a short moment of silence.
“Tom, I have to go soon, but I just wanted to read my story off for everyone here, because I haven’t really told this story before.”
“Please, go ahead!” I said, inspired, but also hoping my student wouldn’t cry.
They told a story about how a doctor told them at 12 years old they would never walk again, and how they proved them wrong, despite having a near-death experience during one of their surgeries. They triumphantly told everyone that they have walked, danced, and climbed mountains!
It was one of the most powerful moments in my teaching career. This person fought back tears to tell their story in front of a dozen strangers, and I remembered in that moment just how emotional telling our personal stories can be.
The surprises didn’t end there.
After the call, we posted one story per day for an entire week…
And people wrote about some truly horrific events, like:
Sexual abuse
Suicide
Cancer
Death of loved ones
I wasn’t expecting to read such harrowing stories, and the toll it took on people in the class was palpable. As a teacher, I wondered whether I made a grave mistake. I didn’t want students to feel bad rehashing such horrific moments—I wanted this to be an empowering experience!
But on the third day of this experiment, another miraculous thing happened.
People started saying how much they enjoyed reading each other’s stories. They were inspired by each other! They felt a connection with their fellow writers. It was beautiful and unexpected.
As subscribers to
’s newsletter, you all know how great of a storyteller she is! It’s fun to read about her adventures and her family. It gets to a point where we feel as if we know her. That’s the magic of storytelling.The real magic.
Storytelling Can Help You Form An Instant Connection With Readers
People will tell you that stories go viral on Substack, and to therefore lean into it more, but that’s not the most magical part of storytelling.
The most magical part is how storytelling can build such a strong connection with a stranger online despite differences in distance, culture, religious beliefs, or even political views. If you both have been through a similar thing, it forms an instant bond between you.
It’s like going to the movies. The movie theater is where a bunch of strangers funnel into a dark room to watch images flash on a big screen for hours. We spend $100 on popcorn and drinks and eat ourselves into a food coma during the whole thing, right?
When we look at it this way, it’s preposterous. Why, oh why, do we go watch images flash on a screen for hours with strangers who won’t for the life of them shut up during the movie?
Why?
Because stories are that powerful. I cried watching Interstellar before my wedding in 2023. I don’t know why. Maybe the film’s reflection on the passing of time and my personal reflection on how quickly my life is moving really hit me.
At the movies we sit in darkness with strangers and cry as we watch images flicker on a screen. That’s the power of storytelling as a consumer.
And that’s why storytelling is so powerful on Substack. People love reading stories. You get visceral, emotional responses from people and it can move a cold stranger into a subscriber immediately.
Storytelling Is Very Powerful On A Personal Level, Too
Another magical part of storytelling, though, are the personal gifts it gives us.
In January of 2015—10 years ago—I sat in an airport in Orlando waiting to board my flight home to Baltimore. I worked at Disney World for 8 months with a group of amazing people, and I was about to say goodbye to all of it. Best friends, you know? People who were there for me in really dark times.
I sat in the airport writing in a journal my sister gave me before my internship started. I filled out the whole journal. I was diligent. I found it gave me so much clarity about why I felt the way I did on a daily basis. I cherished communing with myself on paper every day for 8 months, and I saved the final page for the airport because I’m a drama king.
When I got to the final lines, my paper got blurry, and I felt a drop of water fall onto the page. I was crying in front of everybody at the gate. I pulled my hat down low so people couldn’t see.
For me, the biggest benefits of storytelling have been the personal ones. The reflection. The analysis of my life’s events. The making sense of it all. Telling my story—online or in a journal—help me make sense of the world, and I wouldn’t trade that for 1,000,000 subscribers.
If you’re not telling your story online, you’re missing out.
If you’re not reflecting on your story privately, you’re really missing out.
Storytelling might be the only thing that gives me hope about creating content online. No matter what gets published—AI content, soulless personal development, people getting famous doing mindless dances on TikTok—storytelling will always command attention. And thank god it will, because stories are the realest form of content in existence. In this fake social media landscape, nothing will help you seem more real—or stand out more—than your story.
So use it.
You Have A Great Story To Tell—Here’s How To Get Started
I think many people think they have nothing worthwhile to say.
Perhaps they feel their story isn’t exciting enough.
So they write about tales that excite them. Stories of Bill Gates, or Steve Jobs. I understand that, but they’re wrong that they aren’t exciting enough. They have great stories, too!
Listen, you don’t need to have a lifestyle like Anthony Bourdain to create awesome content. We’ve all been through something. We’ve all had struggles. Here’s a few places to start if you’re not sure what to write about.
Write about your biggest achievements in life.
Write about your biggest failures in life.
One of my students wrote about how he went to jail and spent a few years there. That’s incredible. His whole brand was built around that. How he got out and became a better person. What he learned inside. What that was like.
Another student of mine writes about her harrowing experiences with domestic abuse at the hands of her ex-husband.
It’s not always easy to write about our story, but you’d be surprised how supportive people are online — especially if you hit on some of your most vulnerable moments.
We’ll be waiting.
Special thanks to
for allowing me to guest post in her wonderful newsletter.Lemons & Lemonade 🍋
In case you missed the previous Guest Post by my Founding Member
:
Story telling is so important. I'm about to take an in depth class on the art of story telling for the first three months of the year. I'm hoping it will improve the way I tell stories (obviously). But I also like that learning to write stories makes us better readers of stories. I always get more out of stories I read when I am learning to write stories and I learn more about writing stories the more I read them. It's a wonderful process.
What important prompt did you give your students? It allowed them to tell their stories, not feel alone in trauma, and get support. Storytelling is an important way to process the pain people have endured. There are several groups I want to join, and I am trying to do one at a time. I hope to become a paid subscriber when I am ready. Thank you