Peripheral writing: Going beyond the edges in storytelling.

I just finished reading The Postmistress by Sarah Blake and I got so caught up in the story of Frankie Bard, a fictional female war correspondent during WWII. Before you stop reading, this post is NOT a book review. Although I mention literature throughout, it is mentioned in the context of storytelling, which is what Blake’s gloriously written prose got me thinking about: the art of storytelling and the nature of the storytellers, themselves.

So, what makes a good story?

And, why do some stories get told, but others remain untold? Lost, until someone digs it up, dusts it off, and inspired to tell it again.

To illustrate this let’s return to The Postmistress, which is where this story begins:

It was a time in history when women were to be seen and not heard, and certainly not in print or on the radio. And even though many women were qualified to take up the work of the men on the homefront during WWII, the battlefield was strictly off limits.

There were, however, approximately 127 accredited female war correspondents at the beginning of WWII. Blake’s heroine was inspired by the stories of these women.

Frankie works alongside the very real Edward R. Murrow. She’s a tough broad. Opinionated. Blonde…