Travel Broadens the Mind (and helps you find great stories)

If you agree that storytelling is a powerful way to communicate you may have a question (or two)...

... such as, "But where do I find good stories?"

My answer is to make space for stories to emerge or find you.

To do this, I encourage you to:

1. Be open to discovering and 'receiving' stories

2. Keep your senses alive... listening, watching, feeling.

3. Have more conversations with people (in your sphere, in your community and in your audience, for example)

4. Have a journalistic sense of curiosity. Ask questions. Listen. Ask more questions.

5. Keep a note of ideas and you will soon have a list or 'catalogue' of possible content to fall back on.

Apart from researching or finding a story online, I tend to find stories when I am out walking or travelling.

It happened just like that when I was in Scotland recently.

The Secret Woodland by the Shoreline

In the photo above is the entrance to a community woodland in a small village on the shores of Cromarty Firth in the Scottish Highlands.

I only discovered this 'hidden' gem thanks to the eagle eyes of my partner as we walked against the wind along the village shoreline. It looked intriguing, so we went over to take a closer look.

As we walked along the trail, we discovered areas where small features or scenes had been created and installed. Like the one in the picture below, with a giant snail, a loving couple of frogs, colourful flowers set within a stone circle.

Bumping into a local dog walker on the woodland trail, we were given the story behind the woodland's existence.

The woodland, all the creative pieces, flowers and planting was the idea of a couple of local residents. A form of Citizening, if you like. They took an unused piece of wasteland and turned it into a peaceful woodland for other residents and visitors to enjoy.

They didn't wait for permission or funding, they just did it to improve their community and got on with the job.

How fantastic is that?

Here are some pictures of the woodland, trail and wildlife there...

With a bit more research, this would be a feature article in the making, with many potential publications and websites it could interest.

Who could not be curious when seeing sights like these (see images below)?

Lots of questions running through my mind about the woodland and the men who created it.

Who were the two residents? Why did they decide to create a woodland? How did they get started? How did they go about creating the woodland sets and planting? Did they get any help or funding for it - or all out love and their own pockets? What do residents and visitors think? Who maintains the woodland now?

So, that's one story idea just from going on a walk. Another story idea (or two) came from a recent train journey to Scotland.

Taking the Train and Getting Talking About Buses

I got talking to the passenger beside me, a lovely lady from Perth and Kinross, and clearly a lover of nature and the planet.

She told me about two transport initiatives in Scotland, one local and one national (one community focused and the other environmental in nature).

I can follow up on both of these stories to create features about them. And ask plenty of questions to both gather the details and see the bigger picture.

I always seem to find or receive stories when I travel. I like to observe, I am happy to talk to people I don't know and I will always stay curious.

Question: Where do your stories and content ideas come from?