make it happen stories – get involved

THE VISION

This is what I would love to see during a three-days marathon:

Thousand and eventually millions of minds bend and focused on one urgent issue, flooding our societies with stories, songs, images and films which all have the aim to address the issue, to dig deep into the root causes, to explore what serves us better, to create visions of how to get away from damaging practices and systems and to use story snippets and visuals to illustrate our ideas. Not to be right. Not to spread an answer. But as part of a planetwide exploration into how we can reshape our world so that we and our planet can heal and subsequently thrive.

A restored planet and healing societies are the basis of yet unknown, planetwide prosperity and longevity.

The more people participate at a marathon the more new connections we can create between us, and whatever we find together will be ours because we created it.

How to get involved?

Clearly defining and organising the MAKE IT HAPPEN STORIES COLLECTIONS and the MARATHONS is still work in progress and with every new marathon new ideas emerge.

So far, I can say this: Everyone can participate at the marathons and that for the whole run (3 days) or for parts of it.

You can participate as one or more of the following:

How to get involved?

part II

You can participate as a single person or as a team.

In both cases, you can start your run by posting your start time and (if you like) by adding a brief introduction (in particular if you work with a team.)

The stories marathon is not competitive. That means it doesn’t matter who posted the most or the best stories. We have been divided long enough. We have be told long enough that we have to compete to be someone. We don’t. We can enjoy each other’s wonderful talents. And even if a contribution is only half a thought and not delivered with the sort of smoothness that lifts the heart – so what? Every single thought has the potential to inspire new thoughts.

If you want me to see you from the beginning, send a mention @mihstories.bsky.social, something like: I’m in.

My schedule for the previous marathon

I’m still trying to figure out how to organise my day best so that everything gets enough time: writing, preparing the posts, posting, interacting with contributors and commentators.

For the upcoming marathon, I’ll try the following approximate timing:

DAY 1 – I’ll open with a flurry of posts from several of my accounts (depending on the subject). This time there will be story snippets, photos, videos and maybe a drawing or two. And since everything is connected, there will also be a rerun of stories from the previous marathons. This starts at 9 GMT.

Secondly, I’ll be available throughout the day to answer questions, great & meet, making the marathon known.

I’m also likely to be outdoors and might post live what I encounter in nature.

I’m likely to go on a second post flurry around 17:00 GMT.

In all cases you are welcome to add your contributions to #mihsM.

For a complete list of all my project accounts see this project starter pack on Bluesky: https://go.bsky.app/DUY1vz

DAY 2 – I will focus on writing and on even hours, I will be available to interact (I hope).

DAY 3 – I most likely in a lovely place outdoors (my decision will depend on the weather) and hopefully throughout the day, I will post a fireworks for our planet and our future. And I hope, you, your voice, your work, your thoughts will be there, too.

This is our world! Let’s rethink and shape it together!

The ideal post

On the outside, the ideal post looks something like the Breakfast post.

I presently use the CS5 InDesign version to create these boards. If you’d like a template file, send an email to: contact@charlie-alice-raya.org.

What I look forward to in an ideal post, can only happen on Bluesky.

It’s always great to get likes, reposts, comments. What I would love to see on top of that is what I call an extension of the story snippet.

What could this look like?

Well, someone could write a song, using the snippets idea, or in this particular case, illustrators from around the world could find each other and draw the breakfast table, creating a visual vision of the idea and connecting it to all corners of the planet. A scientist could add input on the kinds of timber best used in which region, a bicycle enthusiast could add an idea of how breakfast for two hundred people could be transported to the local bit of such a table. Others could add stories of people who hear about this and decide to become a builder or a baker for this project. Someone else might add some thoughts about our wrought global food system which could then be picked up (oh, by me in the next marathon).

This kind of conversation, extension, using a snippet as starting point to let your imagination have a dance, all of that would make an ideal post in my mind.

Post template

Just in case, you would rather use a template for you post, here is one I mostly use and you are welcome to use it for your posts as well.

‘Quote’

story snippet //1
TITLE

Day 1, MiHS marathon
THE BEGINNINGS OF A RESTORED PLANET

#MiHS #mihsM #climateaction #takeaction #booksky (or whatever relates to your contribution)

You’re welcome to comment, extend, or add your own stories.

Earlier version:

Today’s MAKE IT HAPPEN stories marathon

//1
Jen steals an oil barrel

#MiHS #mihsM #amwriting #booksky and more #

You’re welcome to comment, extend, or add your own stories.

If you work with boards for your contributions, remember to add the ALT-TEXT. I still sometimes forget. You can use this graphic to add the ALT-TEXT afterwards.

TIP

I work with four files.

• story file, one for each day
• story notes file
• posting file with post template & a collection of #
• InDesign file for the graphic

Hashtags

I’m about to re-organise the hashtags used for the MAKE IT HAPPEN STORIES in the hope of making the story snippets and other contributions more easily accessible.

This is the new structure I want to test:

For your posts during a marathon use #MiHS and #mihsM.

#MiHS – generally use this hashtag for everything that has a connection to MAKE IT HAPPEN STORIES

#mihsM – only use for creative content and only during a marathon

A day or week after a marathon, take a moment to review your contributions, edit and extend them if you like, and re-run them with the topic hashtag. You can also add unused material.

The topic hashtags are for revised contributions from the marathons and for additional contributions at a later time. Don’t re-run a story with a topic hashtag to make sure that a reader can read through the feed without stumbling over repetitions.

These are the present topic hashtags and I will hopefully fill the first two with a re-run this weekend. Though I might postpone this till after the upcoming marathon.

#mihsENDWARS – for contributions to THE END OF ALL WARS

#mihsGOVS – for contributions to THE END OF FAILING GOVERNMENTS

#mihsENDOIL – for contributions to THE END OF CRUDE OIL

#mihsRESTOREPLANET – for contributions to THE BEGINNINGS OF A RESTORED PLANET

And also

#mihsINFO – for all posts with announcements for upcoming marathons and published newsletters, and for background infos and tips. Please, feel free to share your tips for the marathon or to use this # to announce a marathon initiated by you.

#mihsINVITES – I plan to send out a number of invites to the marathon. And at this # you can see who else has been invited. If you think, I should add an invitation to a group or individual, please, let me know on Bluesky.

I don’t always remember to add #. If there’s a post, you think should be in a feed. Let me know.

Request a story

If there is anything, you believe needs to get out there for our planet and humanity, and you are not a storytelling, you are welcome to drop a request for a story. It will only be published if it convinces you.

Request or initiate an additional marathon

You are welcome to suggest a topic for another MAKE IT HAPPEN STORIES MARATHON and you are welcome to use the # and my material to initiate an additional marathon. I won’t always be able to attend. But I’m happy to support any initiative for the future of our planet.

Here a few more subjects which are on my radar:

The rules

• Everyone can participate.

• Number & sign your story snippets and post them on Bluesky with #MiHS and #mihsM.

• If you want to add a longer story, you can post a snippet and a link to the full story.

• No promotion. The exception are artists who use their websites & portals, or quotes from their work as part of their snippets.

• No pushing for subscribers.

• No paywalls for story drafts.

• Publish your copyright rules.
  Mine is: All rights are reserved. However, I invite artists to pick up any of the published ideas. By doing so, the artist agrees to pay a 0,7% share of any revenue to the Charlie Alice Raya projects. You can find a preliminary list of my projects here: websites overview page.

• No competition. This marathon is about flooding our world with visions for our future. It’s not about besting anyone.

• Non-violent solutions.

• Few dystopias. We have enough of those.

• Few utopias. Make it happen stories are not about dreaming. They are about using our imagination and stories to carve out ways and visions for our future.

• Zero tolerance towards every kind of discrimination. We have been divided long enough. It’s time we allowed ourselves to be guided by curiosity. It’s time to get to know each other. It’s time to empower each other and work together.

• No AI use. This is about our future. This is about using our brains, our imagination. This is about us shaping our world.

• No permission to train AI on any of the published drafts.

WRITERS: contribute stories, story snippets, quotes

POETS: contribute poems

GRAPHIC NOVEL/ COMIC CREATORS: contribute stories, story snippets, quotes

GAMERS: contributes characters, ideas, story snippets

ILLUSTRATORS: contribute illustrations or team up with authors for collaborations

VISUAL ARTISTS: contribute visuals and/or collaborate with writers

FILM-MAKERS: contribute film snippets

MUSICIANS: contribute song snippets

SCIENTISTS: feed the contributors with background information or point them to a subject you believe could do with publicity.

JOURNALISTS: Well, you are writers, write, envision, focus on solutions, and/or report from the marathon.

ACTIVISTS: Feed the contributors with background information or point them to a subject you believe could do with publicity.

EVERYONE ELSE: Write story snippets, read story snippets, comment, discuss, like, repost, question, extend.

‘¡Aún mejor! When we are empowered and secure in ourselves, we can explore where our gifts might complement those of others—’
‘—and where we can open our work to the ingenuity of our fellow humans.’

The end of all wars, planet one, the roots of war

Links

MAKE IT HAPPEN STORIES (MiHS)

MiHS – Up next
MiHS – Get involved
MiHS – Prepare

MiHS – What are MiHS?
MiHS – What is a MiHS marathon?

MiHS – Support the project
MiHS – Who is behind this?

MIHS – Copyrights & AI

MIHS – Recaps

MiHS MARATHONS & COLLECTIONS

The end of all wars, collection, story snippets
The end of failing governments, story snippets

NEWSLETTER – Substack

Make it happen newsletter on Substack >

BLUESKY

Where the marathons happen & where you can connect @mihstories.bluesky.social