While watching a new episode of Meateater, an outdoor hunting series my husband and I love, I noticed yet again how eloquently the show’s protagonist Steven Rinella narrates each scene. It truly seems so effortless, the way he poetically recalls glassing over rolling hills while stalking elk or whistling through trees for Spring turkeys.

I’d like to think this is because he is doing storytelling right – simply recalling what he lived. His voice is grounded in memory. His words work because he was fully present while the moments were unfolding in front of him.

A writer for over three decades, Steven Rinella has more than earned his reputation as a creative outdoorsman. His written work spans nonfiction and cookbooks, all shaped by a rare ability to bring readers into the world he has literally walked through.

Others on the series like Kimi Werner, Danielle Prewitt, and Ryan Callahan show the same natural gift. Their storytelling feels smooth because they are not inventing anything or trying to prove anything. They are speaking from the heat of their own experience.

What grips me most about this series is how many adventures they stack across a season. They are out in the world, paying attention, engaging with nature, accepting the unpredictable, meeting new people, and asking questions. The stories they tell afterward on the show are compelling because the days themselves were compelling.

And if I’m being honest… I get this feeling after nearly every episode – a not-so-gentle tug to hit the pause button on reality and go out in the wilderness to track down my own adventure… Just ask my husband about the fishing gear in our garage I have yet to break in.

When I look at my own writing, my strongest pieces always come from recalling something I lived. A run that shifted my mood. A shoot that pushed my creativity. A vacation that pushed the boundaries of my comfort zone. The emotion and curiosity I hope to spark in readers comes from something real. Not from ideas or opinions floating in my mind that arise from consuming something from the internet… but from actions I took.

Many people I talk to tell me that it’s hard to write a story. It’s hard to create something worth talking about or sharing. But I beg to differ. I don’t think it’s hard to tell a story, I just think we aren’t giving ourselves enough opportunities to live out experiences in life worth sharing.

So here is my reminder to myself and to anyone who creates. Live a little more. Close the apps. Reduce the heavy stream of content that keeps us watching or listening instead of doing. Step outside your front door. Try something unfamiliar. Take risks. Move. Play. Explore the passions that really wake you up in the morning. Experience something worth writing down.

Then come back and tell us about it. I think we’ll all find storytelling becomes uncomplicated when we have a life that gives us good stories to tell.