StephanieOccasionally I wonder if I should spend as much time as I do reading and writing fiction. I look at the culture around me and I see way too much emphasis on entertainment. There are much more important things in life. There are meals to be cooked, clothes to be laundered, rooms to be cleaned. There are the poor and the sick to help, the tragedies of life to better. There are errands to run and countless chores to be done. When I think on all the routine and extraordinary issues of life, , entertainment seems frivolous and unnecessary.
So why do I embrace it?
On one level, I can’t not tell stories. Even when I try, when I become mired in life’s day-to-day responsibilities or caught up in important, life-changing events, the stories still cavort in my mind. Those I’ve read, those I’ve written and those begging to be heard. And that is as it should be.
I am a storyteller. A storyteller does not just entertain. A storyteller gives hope and inspiration. A storyteller calls us from the mire of the everyday to experience the richness of the possible day. The stories that come from the storyteller’s pen or voice tell of adventure and romance and the struggle to achieve something lasting. The best stories show the wisdom and success of living rightly along with the folly of unwise choices. When done well, in the midst of an enthralling story, truth is discovered. Even without the lessons, stories ennoble us, call us to desire and strive for more than the humdrum routine of day-to-day life. Reading, watching, and especially creating stories pulls us out of the routines of life and gifts us with a fresh look at the world, at our circumstances, at out choices.
Hearing and telling stories. That’s what I want to do.
And that is a good thing.
Tags: Stephanie, storytelling, writing