Oral Storytelling?

Last night, I went to sleep with a headache.  Woke up, and surprise surprise, it's still here.  I woke up slowly (best way to wake up!) and lounged around in bed for a little while, listening to the end of a inspirational CD my grandma gave me for Christmas and then a bit of David Copperfield.  After lying there for a while, I decided I wasn't going to do that all day in the hopes the headache would leave.  Instead, I was going to write.

I'm pretty sure the headache came because I have been reading so much lately and causing eye strain.  That being the case, I didn't want to cause more eye strain.  So I performed an experiment.  For the first time, I recorded myself orally telling the story as I wanted to set it down on paper.  I would say it while recording, then transcribe the recording into my Microsoft Word.

So yes, I did do some reading today.  I can't help it, really.  And yes, I'm writing this today, too.  I'm pretending the headache has not affected my ability to think straight.

I was impressed, actually, with how my writing turned out.  I usually agonize over each sentence and try to word it just so, but today I did that a lot less.  My narrator, who had a British accent for some reason, had character, even though they weren't a character in the story.  I haven't finished it yet -- "it" being a short story for my Fiction class -- but I am pleased with how it is coming along.  I was able to write a lot more than I would have thought possible while lugging a headache through a story line.  I will be finishing it later, and then editing.  One thing I love about having a Fiction class is that we are in writing groups, and my group will be able to help edit.  If I am lucky and smart in the future, I will institute a writing group (or join one, if one is handy) wherever it is I end up after college.