Stories Pt. 2

I have a fascination with reading stories, but I am not much of a storyteller. Or, to be more specific, I am a very prolific and hard-working storyteller, but I'm afraid I don't put a lot of time and effort into the details of my own story.

Perhaps because I know the ending of the story I'm telling, I'm less motivated to put work into the plot and the character development. On most days I spend a fair amount of time hoping for a plot device to enter the narrative, whisking away some defining struggle. At those critical moments, those great crises that really grab at the heart and define the future of my story, I have to admit I'd often rather jump to the last page. How does this story end?

We are all storytellers, of course. Each of us crafts an epic novel over a period of minutes, days and years. Our stories are constantly read by others, critiqued by others, and face that dreaded reread at the end of the day. Some days I just close the book and throw away the editing pen. On other days, this rough draft carries some heavy red ink.

What does the main character in your story sound like? We all write with the intent of building a protagonist, or at least a sympathetic character. You may be a victim or you may be an oppressor (justified, of course, by the faulty narratives of others). At some point your story will include comedy, tragedy, drama, action, romance, and perhaps even horror. How will your main character react? How will his reactions be read by others?

One inescapable fact of our stories is that they will be read by others. We can attempt to limit the types of readers who will interact with and give input to our plot, but in the end both the cultured and the uncultured, the wise and the foolish, and the Godly and ungodly will encounter our story and interact with it. What will their reactions be? How do they see my story?

I certainly don't always want them to read my story, and there are bits here and there, elements of my character's development and events which they need not all be privy to. However, it cannot be denied that when my story unfolds in the public eye at times, its impact must be understood. A bold-labeled Christian story left open before the eyes of the unbelieving ought not therefore to read as though it had fallen off the pop fiction shelf and been dragged through a sea of profanity on the way to the reading desk. Words have an impact, and the story of my life makes changes both grand and minute in the sentences and paragraphs of authors around me every day. A jovial mood may inspire many stories to lighten up, whereas my character's anger may sour and make bitter or angry the stories around me.

I hope soon that my story will have a co-author, but just to be clear, I'm not shopping for a ghostwriter. A good few editors have made their mark on my story along the way, and it has surely benefitted from their input, but I'd be foolish to throw away my pen. Any man who would dictate a story through the pen of another writer cannot deserve credit for the outcome of his life.

We live in a perpetual rough draft, a compendium of ten million short stories that form the saga of our whole life. To be sure, some of our early writings are our worst, and we're thankful that we have a couple much more experienced editors along for that ride. They let us know when the main character needs to develop, and their guidance helps make a masterpiece out of a children's book. Someday I look forward to editing and helping to write a few new books myself.

It's something of a terrifying thought, though, bringing new stories into the world. Those first words, that beginning sentence, initiate what will, Author willing, be another lengthy novel. There are so many considerations, so many chances to make a mistake. Too much red ink might drown out the narrative, and too much control of the story might make the characters uncreative. Perhaps more terrifying is the fact that those stories aren't entirely in my hands, or even theirs.

Through all this, however, there is one reason why I do not fear setting my pen down at the end of each day; one reason why I do not fear even sometimes setting it aside in the middle of an important plot twist. That reason is the Author, who knows and has seen the beginning and the end of mine and every other story in the world. What greater comfort can there be than to know that no matter how great the conflict, no matter what climactic event may cast my character about and threaten his strength, even so the conclusion has already been reached. It has even been promised.

So I write, not for myself, and not solely for the reading of other writers. Rather, I write primarily for the Author, seeking to mirror with my pencil the fine calligraphy of His masterful strokes. I seek to write my story in ways  that please the Author, and trust and have peace in the knowledge that he will perfect my character through his editing. I write each story with all the emotions and much of the uncertainty that all this world's authors do, but I know the ending. It's a really uplifting, inspiring one. I won't be the hero though, and the victory certainly won't be achieved by my means - there has been, is, and will be serious divine intervention involved in my plot. I have no problem with this, though, because at the end of the day I know that I cannot write a perfect story.

That is for my Author and Lord to accomplish.