Jackie Wells-Fauth
I recently had a gentleman ask me a question about my columns that made me stop and think. “Are all those things you write about true?”
The plain answer is that everything I write about is stimulated by something I see, hear, smell, touch or taste during the week. Do I embellish the story for entertainment value? I’d have to say yes—so what I write about is “based on a true story,” as they say in the movies. And, like the movies, I spice it up to make it as entertaining as possible.
I was a very uncertain child, but I learned early that I could tell a story like no other. While sometimes I write fiction for my own entertainment and I have for years written fanciful plays and reader’s theater scripts for my students, most of what I write about here has truth to it.
When I was young, however, I used those story-telling techniques to explain the things I experienced and that happened around me. And if I could find the humor in it, other people were entertained. I had an aunt who told me, “Search for the joy. Things that are not much fun will happen, but if you can find humor, you will find the joy.”
She was right. And to this day, when I slam my fingers in a door or burn the steaks on the grill, or drop a bucket of paint on the steps, I immediately begin thinking, “How can I make this funny and maybe entertain someone else with it?”
I have discovered that this is better mental therapy than hours on a psychiatrist’s couch. There’s something about telling the story of what happened when I washed the red towel with the underwear, so now it’s all pink, that takes away a lot of the sting—for me; Roy didn’t much care for the pink underwear!
I have some guidelines for my writing. I can put what Roy’s already thinking anyway into actual words and that doesn’t bother me. However, I don’t always have to convert his thoughts, he expresses himself very well. For a long time, though, he locked himself into the bathroom to read my column, but years of experience have lessened the stress for him. Or maybe he’s just resigned himself to his fate!
Even my grandsons come in for their share. The eldest was reading a column about something he and I had done together, and he looked up a time or two, puzzled, and said, “I don’t think I said it quite like that.” Too bad, kid, your thoughts and actions are fodder for your grandmother’s humor. I go a little easier on my daughters, because someday I will need them to take care of me!
I never write about students. As a teacher, I felt it was not right to use their words and actions in such a way. There should be a level of privacy, and I have tried, over the years, to respect that. They have enough to deal with in putting up with my scripts.
When I started writing for the public, I determined that I was not going to write about politics or religion. It isn’t that I have no opinions on those things, but they are my opinions and, in most cases, not terribly humorous. Besides, I figure the news is scary enough most days, I don’t need to carry it over here when my purpose is to entertain.
And that is my purpose. If I can use something happening in my week as a humorous anecdote and someone who may not be having that great a day, reads it and gets a smile or a scoff or even a laugh, then I am satisfied that I have done what I intended.
I have been writing steadily on a weekly basis since I was 34 years old. To give you a context, my youngest daughter being born was one of the first things I wrote about, and she’s been married and on her own for more than ten years. I’ve written for the Mobridge Tribune, the Aberdeen American News and the Miller Press. I also put this article on a weekly blog. I’m not sure I would know how to function without getting up on Monday morning and thinking, “What shall I write about this week?”
And that brings me to a question I get asked often, “How do you come up with subjects?” I admit to people watching and eavesdropping on conversations in public places. People are fun and fascinating, and they give me great ideas. I carry a notebook all the time to write down those great ideas, because when I tell you I have a terrible memory, I’m not kidding—unfortunately, it has always been so! Suffice it to say, I am seldom without an idea for a column!
Everybody has a gift, and I believe God intends us to use them for any good purpose we can. My gift is the ability to tell a story. And in order to make it more entertaining for people, I definitely spice it up. However, you may be sure that what I am writing is always “based on a true story!”
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