Change The Story, Change The World
There’s no question in my mind that when we change the story we tell ourselves, we can change the world.
That’s why for the last three years I’ve volunteered at Reel Stories, a media camp for girls and women.
And that’s why I’m donating to them this year during my birthday month. (June 17th is my birthday!)
If you’d like to support my cause, please donate here (Facebook link). Or just spread the word. Thanks!
More About This Fundraiser
For my birthday this year, I’m asking for donations to Reel Stories. I’ve chosen this nonprofit because their mission means a lot to me.
Let’s put media making in the hands of girls and women! I hope you’ll consider contributing as a way to celebrate with me.
Every little bit will help me reach my goal. I’ve included information about Reel Stories below.
About Reel Stories
Reel Stories offers women of all ages an opportunity to learn how to make films and tell their stories.
Camp Reel Stories is a one-week media camp for girls who want to learn how to make movies in the new digital media era. The camp has a powerful team of women active in the industry who teach the secret language of media the skills, tools and technologies.
Working in small, collaborative groups, this camp gives the campers the opportunity to make and broadcast their own short films through: Production Classes, Media Literacy Lessons, Leadership Workshops.
Utilizing accessible technologies, each camper will be encouraged to actively participate in every stage of the filmmaking process.
I’ve volunteered at this camp for the last 3 years and love helping the girls make films. (Sometimes I was listed as a producer. How cool is that!)
Here are the three films I supported: (Each film is about 4-5 minutes long.)
- “Fantastic Friends”: What happens if you’re no longer a vampire?
- “Messy”: Dealing with grief and the loss of a parent is messy.
- “13”: Turing 13 is hard.
Go here to donate and/or share. Thanks again!
How Stories Change The World
Humans are wired for story.
I’d say that is all story, including what we tell ourselves, what are parents and schools tell us, what our politicians tell us, and of course what’s in our media and history books. And this applies to every culture and to every point in time of human history.
Even what we call “objective science” is a story our scientists tell that changes with the times and with our discovery of new knowledge and understanding.
What we tell ourselves and others has a direct impact on our behavior, so directly leads to how we treat ourselves and how we treat others.
To use a mundane example (related to this post): if you think that it’s too hard to make a movie, but wish too, maybe you’ll never take the steps to learn how. But if you think that it is possible to make a movie, then you’ll take the steps to learn how and then do so.
What we call our beliefs are just stories that have been handed to us or we adopted, often before we could read.
All this to say that we can change our actions by changing the stories we tell ourselves and by changing the paradigms and archetypes we use in our stories. (More tools on how to do that coming soon.)
Thanks!
So thanks for reading and for what you are doing as a writer to add your stories to the world. Our books can have a larger impact than we can know.
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ABOUT BETH BARANY
Beth Barany helps authors get their books completed and out into the world, into the hands of their readers.
Creativity Coach for Writers, NLP Master Practitioner, and Master Teacher, Beth Barany has been there and knows how hard it can be to take your idea and turn it into a real book, that people will actually be interested, and even yearning, to read.
She walks the talk, as her clients like to say. She is the author of the 2012 award-winning young adult fantasy novel Henrietta The Dragon Slayer that debuted the trilogy by the same name, writes well-received paranormal romance and nonfiction books for authors and aspiring authors.
Ready to finish your book but not sure how?
Hire Beth to help you or take a class at Barany School of Fiction.
We help you gain clarity so you can inspire the world with your stories. Our courses are designed to help you get into action — to write, polish, and publish your stories to the delight of your readers.
Go here to check out our 12-month Group Coaching Program for dedicated novelists.
Still have questions? Email Beth.
I will reply 🙂
Your Next Steps as A Fiction Writer
- 8 Tips to Planning Your Novel (blog post) or check out the comprehensive book of the same material: Plan Your Novel Like A Pro (available in print or digital)
- Your 4 Stages of Writing a Novel (Take this quiz)
- Talk to a Writing Coach (It’s my joy and life’s work to help fiction writers.)
How do you want to change the world?
Post in the comments and let me know.
