P.E.A.R.L.S. Story Slams

            Join hosts CCAR Executive Director Phil Valentine and professional story coach Meghann Perry for this fun, creative, virtual open-mic storytelling experience. Eight randomly selected people from each of our Recovery Storytelling Slams will have the opportunity to share a true, personally crafted, 3 to 5-minute story based on our event theme.

            Two lucky storytellers will walk away winners – one as “Judge’s Choice” and one as “People’s Pick”. Each winner will receive a $100 VISA Gift Card, CCAR Swag, PLUS an automatic spot at our Recovery Storytelling GRAND SLAM July 9^th to defend their title and vie for the GRAND PRIZE…a $500 VISA Gift Card!

            *P.E.A.R.L.S is an acronym for “People Expressing Addiction, Recovery, & Life Stories“. We at CCAR believe in the amazing power that storytelling has to convey feelings, emotions, and experiences that can otherwise be difficult to describe. So often, data is the yard stick by which success is measured. But what about a true story from a person who lived it?  P.E.A.R.L.S Story Slam events are opportunities for people to share the stories they want to share in an inclusive and supportive environment.

            Be sure to  join our mailing list to receive creative writing tips, and helpful prompts that can give you an advantage while you’re crafting your story.

            View additional contest guidelines and examples of incredible stories from the CCAR Recovery Story Series, and be sure to like and subscribe to our YouTube Channel to stay up to date and view all CCAR’s latest news, contests, and promotions!

What is personal narrative storytelling?

This art form is summed up best by this: “True Stories Told Live”. It’s an audience, a microphone, and a single storyteller telling a true story about themselves on a given theme without any notes or props. Recovery Storytelling is this art form infused with recovery themes and positive recovery messages.

Examples and  Additional Resources…

You can find great examples of Recovery Storytelling from this collaborative project with CCAR, Meghann Perry, and Retrospective Films.
Another great resource is The Moth– a non-profit group based in New York City dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling.
Check out some tips from The Moth HERE
To better understand the storytelling form, click HERE

What are some guidelines for good storytelling?

• The story must be 3–5-minute long, and in this case, based on the Story Slam theme (April 16: “Lost at Sea”)
• Your story must be true and it must have happened to you.
• It should have a clear, strong beginning and ending, and a middle where the action is happening. Set the stakes early on. What do you have to lose or gain?
• Identify the turning point where things shift and the win or loss is determined, but don’t tell us right away…Build up to it.
• Tell us your relationship to the events of the story.
• We need the emotional aspect of the experience you’re telling us about, not just the facts. How did you feel? What did you think?

Here are some useful creative writing prompts you can use while reflecting, writing, and getting yourself ‘Lost at Sea’:

• • • • Rolling in a fog
      • Having no direction
      • Riding the Waves
      • Loosing an Oar
      • Unsure which way to go
      • Strong currents
      • Getting Blown off Course
      • Vessel Taking on Water

Click below to read a two-part blog post written by P.E.A.R.L.S Story Slam co-host and professional story coach Meghann Perry, that explains the power and purpose of Recovery Storytelling as a tool for advocacy, expression, and as a  pathway all its own.