If you’re a writer it’s a safe bet you’re also a reader. Which means you love a good story.
But what is it that makes a story good? Is it the world in which the story takes place? Is it the rich and diverse cast of characters? Is it the action, the romance, the mystery, the suspense?
All of these are well and good, but as I sat and pondered these questions I realized that what makes a good story great is Choice.
No matter the genre, no matter the hero or the villain, great stories are always about the choices the characters make from the inciting incident to the final climatic showdown. Where the story ends and the curtain falls depends entirely on the choices made throughout the narrative.
Consider Bilbo Baggins.
Had he never opened the door and invited (or rather allowed) the first dwarf to make himself home in his hobbit hole, he never would have heard about the lonely mountain. Had he never left Hobbiton (without his hat and his handkerchief), he would never have gotten lost in a cave—nor would he have found a peculiar ring.
Had he’d made different choices, a certain fellowship may never have formed many years later. A broken sword may never have been reforged. A lost king may have remained lost. And the fate of Middle Earth may have turned out quite differently.
In short, had Bilbo not taken that first risk—and then the next and the next after that—his story would have ended all to briefly and bleakly in hole in a hill.
The same holds true for us as writers. Each morning we wake with a choice before us. Our doors have been marked. Our invitations to join in an adventure have been left on our mantle piece. The choice to write or not is ours alone.
Granted, there will be days when it’s simply not possible to ignore other responsibilities. There will be obligations on our time we have no control over. We need to learn it’s okay to have days where we have to choose not to write.
However, if we continually choose to hide from the blank page rather than face it, it might be time to re-evaluate what’s really going on.
Remember this: Your story as a writer will continue only as long as you choose to move forward in it.
You wouldn’t let your characters in your WIP hide from their hard thing or skip out on the next stage of their journey. Nor would you tolerate it as a reader of someone else’s book. So choose wisely.
Like every adventure, writing is a darned uncomfortable thing that often leaves us wishing were safe at home by the fire, cup of tea (or coffee) in hand.
Like Bilbo, the choice of what you will do today is your own. Don’t worry about yesterday. Forget about tomorrow. Focus on today. That’s where all the action is!
Add a few drops of your own:
What encouraging word would you offer a fellow writer who is struggling to take the first step of sitting down to write today? Share your words of refreshment in the comment section below!