On Stories
And I had set out determined to completely revolutionize the art of storytelling and step out entirely from the comfortable circle of structural writing. But what is a body with no skeleton? A skeleton with no soul? There could be no humans without bodies and no souls without a God. In all honesty I hated the fact that mostly every idea has been exercised and presented in one form or another, but I have come to realize that instead of complaining about the simple minded nature of our kind, it is better to focus on the unity our similarities bring us. After all, we are subjected to our finite and human lives and that is not ever going to change, at least not before we die at least. Anything outside the senses and human terms would simply be processed as irrational and incomprehensible in our minds. So as I was saying, nearly all ideas in story telling have been in one way or another presented to our societies. Interestingly enough, a reoccurring theme seems to rise to the surface of virtually every single story. The battle between good and evil, right and wrong. This is the triumphing theme, the story that succeeds in capturing a pretty hearty audience every time. The idea that penetrates the heart, challenges the mind and excites the soul. I’ve tried to humbly imagine a story, a life, without good and evil and every time I end up with a bitter taste in my mouth a pretty bland painting and stale expressions. Literature would die without morals, without values, without purpose, without truth. The only reading people would do would be things like instructions on how to install a new program into their computers. So then considering these things, it is unavoidable to have such a basic idea, that of good and evil, as a foundation for a working story. Whether these will be portrayed as people, actions or objects, I do not know, but you can bet that you will find them somewhere in my stories. For I am willing to embrace these clichés of life, which might not be so bad after all, but the very fabric of what our experiences are made up of. After all “Those who cringe at cliché are a cliché of their own” (Saint- Ted Dekker)
What I can and will do none the less, is change the way the cliché is presented. I will strip the skin off these jaded ideas and present them to the world in the fleshy and raw nature they were truly created in. People are so used to seeing people walk around with skin; with clothes and countless other accessories used to decorate and hide their true bodies. The sight of a skinless body will be frightening and disturbing to most. But once they begin observing the intricacy and flawless design inscribed in the insides, their world will truly be changed. Actually, it will be clarified and finally appointed the appreciation it deserves. My hope in birthing stories is to cause brows to wrinkle in deep thought, lips to question and challenge the words they speak, eyes to analyze the way they see the world; and hearts to shatter under the gravity of Jesus Christ’s truth and love for them.
