Fiction Isn't Just Stories.

Fiction isn't just stories.

If you have a writer or reader in your family, you've probably heard that before. If you ARE a writer or a reader, you've probably said/thought/felt that before. What does it mean? What does it mean to care about a story? Why do people care about things that 'aren't real'? 

Before I answer, let me tell you about a news story I saw the other day. 

The setting is Ohio. A little boy named Grayson made it onto the news because of an altruistic act of charity- he gave one of his kidneys to a little girl at the hospital, Gracie. He was told he didn't have to do it, even though Gracie would die without surgery. She had been in the hospital for months until a match had been found, withering from several other sicknesses that weakened her. Grayson chose to give her his kidney in an act of sacrifice that had people awing. He even made it onto television. When asked why he did it, Grayson answered that the little girl being alive was more important than himself. 

Don't you think young Grayson is deserving of recognition? That his act was selfless? That he's certainly someone humans should look up to?

Did you care or wonder in any way about what happened to Grayson and Gracie? 

(Hopefully, your answer is yes! :P) 

Well, my most profoud apologies, but the story above is not true. My intent is not to be perfidious; I simply invented it for the sake of this example. 

The purpose of a story is to stir the heart of the audience. It's meant to evoke emotion from the reader/viewer. Good stories awaken our compassion; they enflame our passion; they teach us lessons. Characters, to the people who love them, are real. We become attached to them, and want to see them happy. As a writer, it hurts me to hurt my characters. As a reader or viewer, I care deeply for characters that fly from the pages of books to the screen. I laugh, I cry, I love, I hate, I experience life at its fullest. A story lets you live a life that is beyond your reach- a thousand lives that you cannot live. Becoming lost in a book is one of my passions. 

I cried with the Fellowship of the Ring when they lost one of their own. My heart wept for Sam when Frodo left for the Undying Lands. I ached with John Watson when Sherlock fell. I shuddered with Merlin when Freya left this mortal coil. I curled up with Hazel Grace when Augustus Waters passed away. My eyes flooded when Eugene Fitzherbert freed the one person he loved from a curse. I was downtrodden when Romeo didn't get his Juliet. 

And yet, I was overjoyed when the Fellowship succeeded and Aragorn was crowned king. I laughed with Wesley and Buttercup and cheered inside for their triumph. I'm happy with Hazel Grace's choices, as she is. I bounced on my seat and smiled for Runt the Brave. 

I cared.

These stories matter.

As writers, we have the chance to change the world for the better through our words. These stories are stories that people connect with- we want to live a different life. We want to meet people who understand us, that we can sympathise with. People that can say and do the things we can't. People who are misunderstood, who have been wronged, who are just like us in so many ways and yet so different. Fiction reaches out to people in their darkest moments, and shows them they can recover..that those moments can be overcome. That they can be loved too. These characters are people just like you and me with their own thoughts, feelings, desires, dreams, hopes, fears, friends, families, nightmares, and lives. 

So yes, I'm one of those "geeky nerdy writerly people". I'm proud to be one. I love these stories. They're a part of me. They've impacted me in ways I can't even explain. I want to do that for others- even if I only ever reach one person, I shall be satisfied.

And now, to my fellow writers- ride forth into Mordor. Defeat He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Become Dauntless. Bring glory to Aslan. The world is waiting.

--Stormy