Dispatch From The Quest: Christian Fontenot

Over the course of the 24 weeks I am working with the writers in The Quest, each will write a weekly dispatch to share with the GITS community. There are several reasons for doing this, the main one educational: Hopefully you will learn something of value for your own understanding of the craft from the experiences of the Questers. I should also add they are a great group of people, so I expect you will enjoy getting to know them.

Today: Christian talks about The Quest as a Hero’s Journey:

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” — Joseph Campbell

When I received the email from Scott that I was selected for the Quest, my first reaction was that I was extremely lucky and the second was that this was an opportunity for me to participate in something bigger than myself. This journey would be shared (and maybe inspire) not only with you fine citizens of the global interwebs, but also with my two daughter.

This week’s Core topic was dialog. Coincidentally enough, the Quest has been a lightning rod of conversation in the Fontenot house. My kids have been in some ways taking the Quest with me. Both of my girls are very creative storytellers with a great love, appreciation for books and movies. My youngest has spent her summer reading (last count 15 books). In fact, she is dreading the start of school because she won’t have as much time to read.

What can be bigger than yourself than your children, and I do this Quest for them — my girls. On top of hoping for a “rub off” effect making them better storytellers, my other hope is showing my girls that dreams never die. Now, I just need to get them off their butts and go outside and kick a ball around or something.

“Tell me a story.” How many times in any given day do children all around the world utter those four words to a parent, a caregiver, a teacher? I cannot even begin to count the number of stories I have read, watched, heard or made up with both of my sons. Indeed a few years ago, I remember reading a startling statistic: By the time a person graduates from college, they will have been exposed to approximately 10,000 stories.

10,000!

So if Joseph Campbell is correct, that all stories basically tell one story, then it’s no wonder the Hero’s Journey is deeply engrained in our collective and personal consciousness.

Now here is Christian, giving himself over to The Quest, going on his own Hero’s Journey.

And here are his daughter’s going on theirs as well.

That makes me happy.

I mean what if everything that’s happened in my life… and everything that’s happened in Christian’s life… and everything that’s happened in relation to The Quest… was all meant in some crazy way to be about feeding the creativity of Christian’s daughters? That years from now, those two young women could become master storytellers?

That’s very much in the spirit of a Hero’s Journey with its twists and turns. You just never know whose Inner Spirit will emerge into the light of consciousness and propel them into the heart of the adventure.

For now, my focus is on Christian and his story. And Miranda, Paul, Sandy, Troy and Waka, and their stories. But if through their efforts, they inspire family members and friends to pursue their own creative ambitions…

Wouldn’t that be a great thing?

About Christian: From Louisiana, now in Seattle. Turns off street lights with his mind. Regrets not learning the tuba — TUBAS ROCK! Storyteller. @cmfontenot.

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