Our days are made up of stories. Perhaps not every day, and certainly not every moment of every day, but often enough, there is a story either driving or unfolding out of where we happen to be.

Once you realize that a story is simply an equation of “Where are you and what’s going on?”, you’ll see that a story can happen anywhere— not only when we’re out with friends at parties and restaurants or while traveling. Something doesn’t need to be an Ansel Adams to be a photograph worth taking, and in that vein, something doesn’t need to be “Anna Karenina” in order to be a story worth sharing. For example:

-You’re at the gas station to fill up the car. Not much of a story there, right? But maybe your gas light went off 10 miles ago and this was the only station you’d been able to find, and the whole time you kept panicking about the car suddenly dying on you, and THEN the low-battery alert went off on your phone! It’s not going to get you on the New York Times best-seller list, but it’s something your friends would surely find amusing.

-You’re out on your daily walk through the park when you discover a trail you’ve never seen before. Curiosity leads you down this mysterious path, where you find tree branches twisted in artistic spirals and haphazard blooms of vibrant flowers and a colony of ladybugs that’s vaguely creepy. Doesn’t that sound like something you could preface with: “Guys, guess what I found today!”

And no matter where you are or whether or not you’re by yourself, when you find yourself with a story to tell, Gowalla can help you record it and share it with others.

To create a story in Gowalla, simply navigate to the “Friends” screen and tap the green “New” button in the top right corner. (On Android, tap the “Where are you / Change” prompt). You’ll see a list of all the spots around you—if not, you can search for your venue, and if you still don’t see it, you’ll then have the option to add it.

If you do happen to be out with friends (who have either a Gowalla or Facebook account), after you establish where you are, you’ll be able to include these friends in your story. The major upsides of this are:

1) You can all make one person be the designated checker-inner. No more waiting while everyone fusses with their phones!

2) Content becomes unified. You’re all part of the same story, so why should everyone’s photos and comments be separated by individual check-ins? (They shouldn’t.) As soon as someone joins a story, they’ll be able to contribute to it, and that same single story is included in everyone’s Passport.

3) Even friends of friends can easily become a part of your story’s record. Or people who become friends after the fact! There isn’t a time limit to when friends can join or be added to a story, or furthermore, to when photos can be added. (This is especially handy when you’ve been taking so many pictures that your phone approaches death.)

And finally, you’ll have the option of sharing your story on Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare every time you add a comment or upload a photo (or on Android, anytime after the story’s creation).

Here at Gowalla, our passion is to inspire people to discover the interesting places around them—but truly, what makes a place special are both the stories that have happened there and the stories that are waiting in the wings (great service, food, drinks, and atmosphere are all excellent ingredients for these!)

Where will your next story be?