Sometimes the things that distract me from writing are good things, such as preparing to tell a story. There are few things that I love more than telling stories to live audiences, but it does take time for me to perfect a story and practice telling it.

In the last few months, I have told stories at the Oregon Jewish Museum, Mittleman Jewish Community Center, and Cedar Sinai Park, a senior assisted living facility in Portland. More recently, I joined two local storytellers at an event hosted by Bold Coffee and Books in SW Portland. This coffeeshop/bookstore opened a few months ago, yet it has quickly emerged as an extraordinary community space that hosts some wonderful writing events. I had so much fun telling stories at all these places and can’t wait to tell more.

This leads me to another resolution—do a better job of announcing my storytelling events before they happen.