Looking back on my earliest attempts at writing, I notice two things.
The first, painfully obvious truth is that the writing is shit. Shut up, you! It has improved. Otherwise I wouldn't realize how terrible it was.
The second thing which I've realized much more recently is this; I've always written my stories for the sake of telling a story.
Sure, there's nothing wrong with that. Entertaining people is a noble enough cause- but after reading Will Grayson Will Grayson and reflecting on some of my favourite stories, I've made some observations.
All of my favourite stories are those that, through fiction, shed some light on the real world and it's issues. Paper Towns teaches the importance of imagining others complexly, as opposed to seeing them at surface level. Most of John Green's books show the importance of taking risks and living life to the fullest. The Little Prince teaches dozens of lessons about what's important in life. The Thief Lord shows the value of friendship.
Considering all of this, I've been thinking that the number one thing that I could do to improve my stories right now would be focusing more on theme rather then on story. Instead of focusing on the story first and maybe a half-baked message thrown in once in awhile as I've done before, I'll try to focus on the theme and have the story build around that.
I want to explore themes and try to find some deeper meaning in the world around me. To talk about mis-imagining others, to talk about the importance of meaningful relationships. The problem is, I have no idea how to weave a story around that.
Thus, I'll be let stranded for a little while longer in the storytelling world. I'll work on it, don't worry.
Until that day when a brilliant idea that will solve all my problems and make the world become covered in rainbows and puppies and kittens and marshmallows just happens to wander into my head, I'll be here.
Thanks for reading,
-Mark
No comments:
Post a Comment