We're All Stories in the End

I was reading about the elements of a flawed character and they were talking about how characters without flaws have no story. That progress cannot occur if we just accept their mental and moral states as they are because then there is no call to action.

...by accepting the status quo of their mental and moral states, we're refusing the call to adventure outright. They'd just exist in the same state they were in the setup, stagnant, somewhat lifeless.

The concept of life as a story is not a new one to me. In fact, it comes up in fiction fairly often: The TV show Castle where a mystery writer helps solve crimes based on how he would've written the story. The movie Stranger Than Fiction where a man finds his life being narrated by a writer who is writing his life thinking it is merely a fiction she created. The Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms series of books by Mercedes Lackey which describes a world where the power of The Tradition pushes people's lives into the patterns of fairie tales, for better or worse.  It's very easy to accept this concept in the context of a fictional world, but it holds equally true for the real world as well.

Not that long ago I started seeing a therapist to help me get my anxiety and depression under control. This past session he really made me think because he pointed out that my tendency to react in certain ways is a choice. There may be underlying things from my past that cause me to continually make that choice but it is a choice nonetheless. Getting better requires me to start making different choices when presented with those situations. It's not an easy thing to do but it is a necessary one.

Today it clicked for me that I'm the main character of my own story and that just accepting my flaws as they are keeps me just as stagnant and lifeless as though I were poorly written character. My story can go nowhere if I don't accept the call to adventure and fight through the discomfort of the unknown towards what I can only hope is a happy ending.

Life is the most complex and compelling story you will ever tell. You are both the main character and the author at the same time, take advantage of that. Heed the call to adventure and make your story memorable. I know that's what I'm planning on doing.

Happy New Year 2020

My biggest resolution going into 2020 is to be more consistent about writing. I have had this blog for 5 years now and have been horrible about posting. I haven't been any better about my fiction writing either, though I did manage to complete another short story and have it published.

For Christmas, my Mom enrolled me in a writing course being run by my local used book store and being taught by several local authors. I never thought I'd be able to go so it was an amazing present to receive. She believes in me as a writer, often more than I believe in myself. So for her, and for myself, I am going to throw myself into this. I've always been so scared of failing and am often my own worst critic when it comes to anything I create or do. But I've now had two of my stories chosen for publishing, that has to mean I'm doing something right. Right?

I've been so wrapped up in my depression and anxiety for the last year that I haven't let myself think that I could do anything. I stopped writing, crafting, even hanging out with friends. I haven't been taking the best care of myself, my Mom, or my home. It's beyond time for that to change. I started going to therapy to help me get my head right and deal with my past, now it's time for me to start working on giving myself a future.