Ever since I can remember, I loved storytelling because it allowed me to escape within my own imagination. I’ve always been an introverted, introspective person, so growing up I turned into a bookworm fairly early on. I remember taking my books with me in the car for a 5 minute trip to the grocery store just so I could read those couple extra pages and know what happens next.
As a kid, stories about alternate worlds and fantastic beings seemed a lot more interesting than my own life in suburban Missouri. Let’s be honest, a concerning number of people would instantly choose to go to Hogwarts despite any life-threatening dangers they read about. In stories, everything we ever dream about can be possible, no matter how extraordinarily improbable.
While I am often easily absorbed in high-concept, magical worlds I wish so desperately were real, I am also tremendously particular when it comes to the complexity of characters. In order for a story, an entirely different universe, to feel legitimate, the characters have to be perfectly imperfect, their every action meaningful according to their personal experiences and beliefs. To me, the best part of writing is getting to create humanity at its best, worst, and most frustratingly complicated.
Writing is a way to give the audience a glimpse through a window to another world, and you get to choose the lens through which they view it. Writing characters and stories that are unique, yet comparable to reality, allows a writer to choose how they want to impact their audience and for what purpose.
For my purposes, I want to write and develop narratives that promote authenticity and vulnerability of character. To tell layered stories that relate to my audience in unique and engaging ways. To acknowledge the darkness, yet strive for the light. To match cynicism with sincerity, and write stories that value empathy and connection.
Comments