Tell the tale of a plastic toy's life, tracing its history back to the oil that became plastic and then back to the prehistoric plants that created the oil.

• Before that truck sat in my toy chest, it was on the shelf in the store
• Before that, it was in the manufacturer’s warehouse
• Before that, it was in the manufacturer's assembly plant
• Before that, it was a pile of plastic parts
• Before that, each part was a piece of unmolded plastic 
• etc.

One could use a similar technique to craft a story. Instead of starting chronologically in the past:

• The year was 1974 - I purchased a woodcut from a high school student.

Start with an object in the present

• I have a picture on my wall. It's a wood cut with a quote from a Richard Bach book.
• Before it hung on my wall, it was on the wall in my Mother's apartment
• Before that, It was on display in a bank in the small town of Putnam Valley, New York

Fill in the spaces between the lines with more information that all relates to how you came by it, how and why the object became important to you, how it changed your life, etc.

Starting in the present can anchor you and your audience. Moving slowly, backwards in time, sometimes makes it easier for the audience to follow the story, and also connect at different points along the way.

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