Tiny Stories are a big deal

My Auntie Ann Greenfield was the matriarch of our family.

She casually told stories you couldn’t believe, dropped pearls of wisdom that were so hilarious you’d never forget them, and remembered every single name on our family tree back to 1800. She was a marvel. Someone who felt more like a fictional character than an actual person. And we all loved her so.

When Auntie Ann passed away, we lost a living link to our family’s history.
But I’ve found myself grieving in unexpected ways in the years since—usually when I start telling the kids how I know Joe Biden is a great dancer (because Auntie Ann danced with him… but where? And when?).

There’s not a whole memoir in that one tiny story, but somehow, there’s a whole world in it.

Why Tiny?

Kids need big dreams. That’s why Summer Novel Camp works for them.

Kids aren’t motivated by busywork. They set their compass by their wildest dreams, and their boundless energy does the rest. They want to be a hero. Or the President. Or a Novelist.

But for grown-ups? Big goals can feel paralyzing.

“Write a novel.”
“Write a memoir.”
“Tell our entire family legacy.”

That’s not inspiring. That’s pressure.

And personally, I can feel frozen when I don’t know where to start.

Tiny Stories is small on purpose.
A tiny story is something you can handle. Something you can finish.
Something you can pass down.
Something you can write again. And again. And again.

What is Tiny Stories?

Tiny Stories is a method. It’s a way to trick your brain into mining the memories that matter most, and writing them down with ease, clarity, and joy.

It’s also a workshop. A space. A practice.
It’s a table where you’ll sit with others and surprise yourself.

You don’t have to be a “writer.” You just have to show up with the voice you already have and the life you’ve already lived. See how easy that is?

We use a carefully crafted mix of creative prompts, timed sprints, object writing, movement meditation, sensory recall, and “the Hemingway Method” (more on that another day) to help you enter your story through the back door, not the intimidating front gate marked NOVEL or MEMOIR.

The result? You’ll write faster, feel freer, and create a treasure trove of tiny scenes, each one a doorway to something bigger (or not bigger).

Tiny Stories: Three Core Principles

1. Write with others.

You’ve heard “Write what you know.”
But the moment you sit down to write—poof!—everything you know disappears.

That’s why we start in community. It’s easier to tell a story than to write one.
And in a Tiny Stories group, you’re never staring at a blank page alone.

2. Start somewhere strange.

Tiny Stories prompts are designed to bypass perfectionism and nostalgia traps.

We don’t say, “Write a story about your childhood.”
We say, “List everything you remember in the kitchen of the house you grew up in.” Or, “Write for 4 minutes about rain boots. Go!”

We’ve been gathering and refining these starts for over 15 years.
Starting is the hardest part. Luckily, we’ve got that covered.

3. Write fast, write often, and leave the door open.

We don’t finish stories in our workshops.
We start them. Over and over. And over again.
Because practice is the point.

You’ll leave with dozens of story seeds, ready to grow into longer pieces, if you want.
Or you can simply hold what you’ve written and know: this is enough.

You don’t need a big commitment to write tiny stories.

You just need the moments that mattered to you.
The ones that still hum inside you, even if you haven’t thought of them in years.
The ones no one else would think to write down. These are some real story seeds written by folks in our workshops using the Tiny Stories method:

• The day my grandmother taught me how to crimp a pie crust.

• That weird dog I adopted in my twenties who snored.

• The pair of Cuban-heeled shoes I bought, and loved, in the ’70s.

• The time I slept on a park bench in Barcelona and woke up with a glass of water thrown in my friend’s face.

• The time I sat on a porch swing with my aunt and felt completely safe.

These are the stories that make you who you are.

Tiny Stories is how we help you find them.

Try It With Your People

For the next few weeks, I’ll be offering free one-hour Tiny Stories mini-workshops to groups of future storytellers: book clubs, family circles, church groups, mahjong teams, supper clubs, work teams, you name it.

Just bring your people and your curiosity.
I’ll bring the method, the madness, and the magic.

👉 Reserve your free session
Or email me directly for other options.

Tiny Stories isn’t about writing a whole entire big-ole book.

It’s about coming home to the stories that already live in you.
All you need is a little time, a little courage, and a little company.

Let’s go!