A year and a half ago I got back into writing,
specifically fantasy and science fiction, and I want to share some thoughts on why I believe in writing fiction and telling good stories.
Stories are a wonderful vehicle to
discuss themes or ideas, and it is important to find topics worth examining. If
I am to devote 5K, 10K, 100K+ words to an extended monologue with readers
I should know what I want to talk about. There are many good themes in the
world and I doubt whatever time I have left on this earth, however long it may
be, will allow me the opportunity to but scratch the surface of the topics
left to be contemplated.
When I have an idea in mind the next
step is to decide about how to interact with it. My brother-in-law Caleb, who
is a wise storyteller, once said stories should be about asking good questions
and not about giving good answers. The more I ruminate upon this idea, the
more I agree with this story philosophy. As writers, or storytellers of
any medium, we should not be lecturing on what to do, but inspiring people to
think for themselves. I can tell a reader my thoughts, but the reader
will have little reason to give credence (especially in any lasting
fashion) to my opinions unless the reader already shares similar views to
my own (in which case I have not evoked anything new within the
reader). But if I can make the reader ask questions, perhaps some change can
occur. It is wrong to think storytelling gives anything remotely like direct
control over others; at best all that can be attained in a meandering influence
toward an idea.
This indirect approach of “asking good
questions” provides readers with opportunities for mental engagement rather
than passively received entertainment. The fruit from even the mildest of
mental wrestling is more appreciated by the reader than anything which is won
without contest. I wish to communicate something with the reader, and if I am
to devote so much time to this endeavor I want it to have effects lasting
beyond mere hours after reading. In several arenas of life I have seen that
inductive communication lingers in minds far longer than mere
deductive styles; deductive reasoning enabled Holmes to solve the most
masterful of crimes, but it did nothing to develop Watson's abilities.
Is it possible to write a story
which spurs another person to ponder or remember the beauty of the world
around us? By telling a good story can I evokes a sense of
wonder? I believe it is, and this is one of my chief reasons for writing
fantasy stories. Even the most fantastical of worlds imagined is
only a derivative of our own; I dream of other worlds because this
world is so magnificent. When I look at the splendor of creation it cannot help
but stir within me the longing to reflective-create; to re-imagine
and remake things as I have been created to do. The world is beautiful,
life is wonderful, and there is so much truth and splendor to behold.
These are my goals as a writer
