Finding the Story in Life

It was Ben Franklin who said, "Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing."

Sometimes it's a little hard to do both at once.

That's why I'm taking a break from HIDDEN FACE through May to blog about story, life, and all the behind-the-scenes things that create a story worth writing about.

And to ask you a really serious question.

How Story Parallels Life

I've been rewriting and expanding AZINAE recently and it struck me that one of the reasons I'm struggling with it is that it doesn't fit where I am in life right now. At root, Connie and Ulysses' story isn't mine at this season in my life. For another season, maybe, but not this one.

Stories are reflections of their authors' personalities and experiences, in ways that authors don't even really understand. I certainly don't understand it.

For example, this week someone who read my fantasy novella WINGS BENEATH WATER pointed out specific ways in which the book reflected the culture of the Abenaki native peoples of Vermont. I had never seen the parallels before, but, by golly, they are there. Even the setting--a marshy river delta--is very similar to the Missisquoi River where the Abenaki tribe has lived for centuries.

This type of detail is why the same story told by two different authors would be a completely different story. Everything written is filtered through a different lens of experience, mindset, and worldview.

That's why I need to tell a different story right now, to reflect the type of story that is happening in my life.

You probably don't care what I work on next, but here's where you do come in.

I'm going to repeat it: "Either write something worth the reading or do something worth the writing."

If someone wrote a story about your life up until now, what would the title be? What would the chapter headings be? What would the content reveal about you?

I believe every life should have significance, purpose, and destination. So I'm asking you: What makes you significant? What gives you purpose? And what is your final destination?

What would make a book about your life worth reading?

These are the questions that I've been asking myself a lot lately, and the answers I have been receiving are simultaneously terrifying and exciting. If you'd like to learn more about it, you can head over to my latest posts at the unexpected good.