I'm not going to lie. I've had a rough week. I will fudge a little to tell you, of course I'm not having pity parties daily. ;)
Last night seemed to be the breaking point, and then this morning my son woke up extra early. It wouldn't have been a big deal, but CJ planned to take the girls to school so I could get a little extra rest. I did not get any extra rest.
This past week, it hasn't been the bills or the bigger picture of things going to crap in my life-it's been all the little things. The hay baler in front of me when I'm running late for work. The guest that complains about the price of our drinks. The trash overflowing. The laundry taking over my bed. I could go on, but I'm almost certain you have all had this experience. It's called life.
Do we put enough life in our stories? There are the basic rules of storytelling that we try to nail down-tenses, beginnings, middles and ends. But, whilst planning our big conflict for our main character to solve; we tend to forget about all those little life annoyances that can slow us down or sometimes bring us to a screeching halt. I know that we want our readers to keep turning the pages. We want them to connect with our main character. We keep all of these things in mind as we create new worlds and characters. But do we remember to add a dash of 'life' to get in the way of their plans?
Sometimes, it's the little things that bring about the biggest change. Our reactions to life's little problems shape who we are and who we will become. This is true for our characters as well.
YEs, yes and yes. IT's the little things that make our stories shine.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, everything will get better. It always does.
Storytelling is in the details. Have a nap, go for a walk and then things will feel better. That helped for me yesteday.
ReplyDeleteI think the moon or the planets are in some crazy phase this week...so hang in there. Things will get better. In the meantime, you bring up an important point.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you've had such a long and weary week. Maybe the next one will be better?
ReplyDeleteI remember an episode of Family Ties from way back in the 80s where Alex's friend died. Everyone kept waiting for him to break down, but he went on like life was normal until someone knocked over a cup of orange juice on him and he went into a melt-down. I think of that episode all the time... how we are hard and stoic and pushing through, but it's the orange juice that ends up getting to us.
Praying you are doing better, and that you get some well-deserved and needed rest.