Love. Stories.

Who doesn’t love a good love story? We ooooo when we hear about a boy liking a girl in middle school, we awww at the couple kissing on the jumbo-tron at a sporting event, and our stomachs flip when our leading characters finally get together in our favorite books (only to be torn apart by unforeseen circumstances in the next chapter). What’s not to love?

I’ll admit it. I love writing about love, but it’s probably not the kind of love you’re thinking about. I LOVE exploring a character, and their capacity to love others. I know you’re thinking, “What!? This blog post isn’t about heightened emotions and lots-o-abs?”

If you want to know the truth, I love conveying an unconventional and thought-provoking story more than narrating a love story that follows all of the hundreds of formatting and grammatical rules ‘required’ when writing a novel. Brown-chicken-brown-cow at it’s most eloquent is still somewhat predictable, even with kitchen utensil terminology (see previous post). I’d rather fade-too-black, and disclose the awkward and impossible task of two characters trying to act like nothing happened after the fact.

A great friend of mine, Amber, recently wrote, “THIS thing–this intangible, insatiable motivation to fling these words, wrapped in a specific glitter and an intentional paint–pushes me ahead even in the midst of my fear and potential embarrassment.”

Wow. Right?

As a writer, I want to be specific and intentional with my storytelling. My inner monologue demands that I cut corners when it comes to our culture’s trends, and it begs me to ignore the industry’s formula for writing the perfect novel. I’m learning that it’s impossible to make everyone happy. I don’t have control over their thoughts and opinions, but I do have control over mine. I yearn to find joy in the construction and whimsy of my words, because I’d rather design an original piece of art than try to pass off a fake.

I. Love. Stories. The characters that bleed from my pen, and the worlds that are shaped by the pounding of my fingers on a keyboard, are what drive me to create.

• If you’re a reader, I hope that you find my novels compelling and creative.
• If you’re a writer, I challenge you to write outside the rules and expectations of everyone else and just love your story.

Note: I’ve only read one perfect love story. I’m not going to get all preachy-teachy here, but I will confess that God’s Word (the Bible) is the ultimate love story. I don’t believe the Bible was meant to be a rule book, but that its purpose is to show us how much God loves us.