It’s All About Story

A “Do Big Things” Update (maybe I’ll call them “Walter Mitty Moments” – yes, I like that): I signed up for my first writer’s conference. It’s in April, i.e. less than a month away. Which I didn’t realize until after I clicked the “register” button. Eek. Now the flurry of writing begins! I have a novel to finish (or attempt, at least) and proposals and one-sheets to write and make. Goodbye, Spring television season! 

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming: I promised you that I was going to be blogging about stories.

Ever since I was a very little girl, stories have captivated me. From an early age, I wanted to share them with others.

Me, Age 2
Me, Age 2 – Reading to my Bears

And now I want to share them with you.

Why stories captivate us.

How they add to – and alter – our own realities.

Why they matter.

Why our stories matter. 

Life is all about the story. It’s about reading them and sharing them and living them. It’s about telling them to other people.

The reasons for stories – and the stories themselves – are endless.

Sometimes, it’s less about the story itself and more about how the story is told. I’ve never read the same story twice – even when I was reading the same plot. 

And sometimes, I do read the same stories over and over again. The plot doesn’t matter: I already know know and love it. It is the experience of the story that keeps me reading once more, and then more still.

Often, we read stories because of what they meant to us at some point in our lives. A story can represent a time we look back on fondly, or a person that we miss. They remind us of who we used to be, dreams that we used to have – and sometimes still do.

You see: I think fiction and reality are more tightly bound than we allow ourselves to believe. But that is a theory on which I am still working.

Will you work on it with me?

What is your favorite story? Why do you think that is? 


Comments

8 responses to “It’s All About Story”

  1. My favorite story of all time is “The Neverending Story” because the nerdy bullied kid (Bastian) saved Fantasia by choosing a name for the Childlike Empress. Just the whole story is awesome. Also in the book “Unbroken” the story of survival and forgiveness is unreal. I have been recommending this book to everyone who shows interest in reading. And last, I am telling my life story of God’s grace and forgiveness in my blog, which will be a book. http://www.dilemmamike.com

    1. Hi Mike! Thanks for stopping by. A friend and I were just talking about “The Neverending Story.” I remember the movie giving me the chills as a child, but I’ve never read the book. Maybe I should do so. And “Unbroken” has been suggested to me so many times, I can’t count them. Adding it to my list once and for all, right now. Thanks for sharing your favorite stories with me!

  2. One of my favorite stories ever is Bridge to Terabithia. I’ve re-read my copy so many times, and I love it!

    1. That is a GREAT choice, Bethany! I love that book, too. When I went back and re-read it as an adult, I realized that when I read it in middle school I must have blocked out the sad parts, because I didn’t remember them!

  3. If I have to pick just one story, it’s the story of Jonathan and David in the Bible. I’m touched by the openness and rawness of true friendship at any cost. I love that Jonathan is willing to do anything, including die for David, and that David is humbled by Johnathan’s love. When they had to separate, they wept openly together. I’ve searched for that type of friendship my entire life. After 40 plus years of searching, I’ve learned that to find a friendship like that, you have to be a friend like that – and I have found that friendship finally!

    1. That is a great story to reference, Susie! And I love that you learned how to be a better friend because of it. Glad you found the friendship you were searching for!

  4. One of my favorite stories is To Kill a Mockingbird. I first read it when I was in seventh grade, and since then I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve reread it and how many new angles I’ve seen from it. You’re right – stories like that are never the same twice.

    1. That is a good story to mention … in fact, I don’t think I have read it since junior high. Maybe I need to give it another go and see how I understand it differently today. Thanks for chiming in, Anna!

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