I know I’ve promised to post about writing on Wednesdays, and life on Fridays. Don’t worry. Even though this post is going to start out with discussion about writing, it really is about life.
When I was first learning the important elements of writing a good story, I learned an important lesson. The story starts on the day when things change. This is when the main character (who we may, or may not already know for a few pages) has his or her world turned upside down.
Unfortunately, the reason this is such an important element of story is because this is the thing that gives us a harsh place from which the character can rise and grow.
This is also the case in real life. Change is inevitable. There is nothing we can do to avoid or stop it. Children grow up, relationships change, economic circumstances create difficulty or abundance, people get sick.
Some changes are welcome and exciting. Others are devastating. But all change helps us grow into the people we are, or who we need to become.
A lot of people I know are right now experiencing some serious changes in their lives. Hard changes. Exciting changes. Devastating changes. And I’m not going to tell them that everything will be okay. Maybe it won’t. Maybe things will be hard for a long time. Or maybe it will be okay and they’ll come out ahead or on the very top. But regardless of what each change means to each person, I hope they will remember one very important detail.
This is where your story begins. And all stories, regardless of if the ending is happy or tragic, end with one thing in common. Hope.
What recent changes in your life give you cause to hope?
2 comments:
What a great post, Nichole!
The last few years of my life have been full of changes--some good, some bad. Perhaps the best change of all though is that I now know that no matter what else happens, I have Scott to help me through it. In the end, there will always be "us" and with that knowledge, I can face the rest.
My son is learning to drive. I wished this day would never come. lol.
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