The Story
We are all stories in the end, remembered by the adventure we had, the achievements we made and the people we loved.
A guy I worked around for about twenty years passed away last week. He was too young. We had lost touch after he retired. His retirement was way too brief.
Yet a mutual friend got together with me and quickly we recounted a few stories about our now-missing friend. We remembered a lot of things about him, including the moments when we didn't see eye-to-eye on a particular issue.
"He was a good guy," my buddy said.
And there it was.
The summation.
The above quote is so powerful to me.
"We won't ever wonder what you were thinking," Sam said to me one day. "You wrote it all down."
And that's true.
I certainly like to believe that it's the reason I've written so many words through the years. No one can be that self-absorbed, right?
I certainly am doing it for my boys and my brother and sister's children.
The story.
Getting the story down.
It's funny, but my beautiful wife and I shared our story a little bit this week as well.
July 1, 1994 was the first time we kissed.
Isn't that lovely?
Yet we remember it. It's a shared part of our history together. It was a monumental decision on the part of both of us.
(Well, mostly her. I've learned that my decisions are basically hers disguised as my own personal beliefs).
But that's okay because it all worked out.
Believe it or not there were a couple of other girls that I had kissed prior to that night, but I certainly don't remember the dates.
"20 years," Kathy said. "And I still like you."
Which is a good thing too.
Because as you write the story you certainly realize that there are plot twists that you've never actually seen coming.
It's funny, but I was talking to a writer's group a couple of weeks back and they asked me if I always start a book, knowing the ending.
"You write to the end," I said. "You certainly have the resolution in mind, but the ending has to reflect what is happening in the story or the reader won't believe it. So, you make that first kiss strong so that they buy the other elements of the relationship."
I had honestly said that!
Build the story, folks.
A guy I worked around for about twenty years passed away last week. He was too young. We had lost touch after he retired. His retirement was way too brief.
Yet a mutual friend got together with me and quickly we recounted a few stories about our now-missing friend. We remembered a lot of things about him, including the moments when we didn't see eye-to-eye on a particular issue.
"He was a good guy," my buddy said.
And there it was.
The summation.
The above quote is so powerful to me.
"We won't ever wonder what you were thinking," Sam said to me one day. "You wrote it all down."
And that's true.
I certainly like to believe that it's the reason I've written so many words through the years. No one can be that self-absorbed, right?
I certainly am doing it for my boys and my brother and sister's children.
The story.
Getting the story down.
It's funny, but my beautiful wife and I shared our story a little bit this week as well.
July 1, 1994 was the first time we kissed.
Isn't that lovely?
Yet we remember it. It's a shared part of our history together. It was a monumental decision on the part of both of us.
(Well, mostly her. I've learned that my decisions are basically hers disguised as my own personal beliefs).
But that's okay because it all worked out.
Believe it or not there were a couple of other girls that I had kissed prior to that night, but I certainly don't remember the dates.
"20 years," Kathy said. "And I still like you."
Which is a good thing too.
Because as you write the story you certainly realize that there are plot twists that you've never actually seen coming.
It's funny, but I was talking to a writer's group a couple of weeks back and they asked me if I always start a book, knowing the ending.
"You write to the end," I said. "You certainly have the resolution in mind, but the ending has to reflect what is happening in the story or the reader won't believe it. So, you make that first kiss strong so that they buy the other elements of the relationship."
I had honestly said that!
Build the story, folks.
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