According to Steve Forbes, “Jim Stovall is one of the most remarkable and inspiring individuals of this age – or any age. His example of doing good and great things in the face of what others would consider to be debilitating challenges is uplifting and inspiring.”  Despite losing his sight in his twenties, Jim Stovall has shown the world that you don’t have to be blind to see. Find out how he became a renowned author of over 30 books and how he writes without seeing.

No Blind Guys in the NFL

Jim admits that his highest goal in life as a young man was to be an all-American football player, and playing for the NFL Dallas Cowboys. Assured by scouts, coaches and trainers that he would be heading to the NFL, a routine physical one year before eligibility, discovered a condition which would eliminate his sight.

“Talk about all your plans going into reverse,” he states, “I did not know what I was going to do. I instantly realized that there was no blind guys in the NFL.” He jokes that there may be a few referees some are concerned about, but he soon realized he would have to do something else.

Serving Needs of the Visually Impaired

After college, Stovall helped invent a technique to help blinded and visually impaired persons access movies and TV. “We serve the 13-million Americans, and many more around the world through our Narrative Television Network,” he states. From that success, he was asked to make speeches and then to write books. Writing was the farthest from his mind when he was first diagnosed. Since that time, he’s written more than thirty books, with as many as five movie options, has ten million books in print and a Pulitzer Prize nomination.

Telling The Story

Describing his philosophy of writing, Stovall explains, “It’s all  story. To me, writing is like you and me talking now. I like books, but I can’t read, and I like movies, but I can’t see. So, the genre of the media doesn’t matter so much to me… I never was a reader.”

Stovall credits digital books from the National Library for the Blind, and high speed audio players for helping him read a book every day. “There has not been a day in the last 22 years that I haven’t read a whole book from cover to cover,” usually before he’s picked up to go to work.

Jim Stovall has never typed or written longhand any of his books. “I have dictated all thirty of my books. I write a weekly syndicated column… my screenplays for my movies — I dictate everything to Dorothy.” So, quite literally, Stovall does, indeed, tell every story he’s ever published.

 

Take Home Message:

* Download a free sample chapter of the book “One season of Hope ” print or audio at jimstovallbooks.com

* Any time you think your problem is overwhelming, you can contact [email protected] or call him

* Great writers develop their craft, write through the junk until you get to the golden nuggets.

 

Lifestory Toolkit: Scriggler.com

(Brought to you by Lifestorytelling.com – Discover YOUR life stories!)

This episode’s Lifestory Toolkit features a neat community called Scriggler.com. Their tagline is “a new type of writing, blogging, and debating platform”. You can find it at Scriggler.com. Scriggler is first and foremost a very supportive community. It’s not just for writers – it is for anyone who feels the need to express themselves in long form. It can be stories, poetry, opinions, essays, news commentaries, research – there are no limits. Contributors range from absolute novices making their first steps in fiction or poetry writing to established authors with multiple published books under their belt. You can also think of Scriggler as a blogging platform with a...