Writing our stories

My book group is currently reading Donald Miller's new book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life. It's the first of his books since Blue Like Jazz that I've picked up, and I'm enjoying it a lot.

When Don spoke a couple of years ago at the CCO's Jubilee conference, he was working on this book. I remember him talking about what makes a good story, and wondering what kinds of stories we are all living. If someone approached you and wanted to make a movie about your life, what would your story look like? Would it be compelling enough to bother making the movie?

That's partly what the new book is about. Last night, I was surfing around online, reading and listening to interviews with Don about his writing. In the process, I found this cool video of Don Miller and Steve Taylor, the filmmaker who approached Don about making a movie based on Blue Like Jazz:

From the Director from Blue Like Jazz The Movie on Vimeo.

I love it. (And I'm also now reminiscing about all of those great 1980s Steve Taylor songs. "This Disco Used to Be a Cute Cathedral"? "Meltdown (at Madame Tussaud's)"? Anyone?)

So, this book is sending me on another memoir-reading binge. Seeing Steve Taylor again is making me nostalgic for my Walkman and my old cassette tapes.

And now I am thinking a lot more about what makes a good story. And how I want to continue, as my blog title suggests, to ask "what must I do to make my life a true story?"

Stay tuned...