Saturday, October 16, 2010

Tip: Meaning

You can get on without meaning in your stories, right?  Secular books do it all the time, you might reason.

Well, yes an no.  Meaning is possible to leave out in stories.  But then again, without meaning, stories are nothing but that: just stories.  They won't become alive to your readers.  They won't be applicable.  They won't be an amazing epic: it'll just be another book.

Think of all of your favorite books--why do they matter so much?  Lord of the Rings?  Meaning is what made it matter.  The meaning--heroism, sacrifice, love--is part of what made LOTR what it is. 

Meaning can be left out, yes.  But if you want a compelling story, do NOT leave it out. 

I write meaning into my stories for that reason, and because my stories reflect who I am.  I am a Christian--and so my stories likewise reflect my beliefs about morality and meaning. 

Now, if you expect me to tell you how to write meaning into your stories, you're wrong.  I can't tell you how to write morality into your stories.  It wouldn't be meaningful if it came from someone else.  You, and you alone, can write meaning into your stories.  You and God.

6 comments:

Mackenzie A. Lockhart said...

Great post! I agree :)

Squeaks.

RED~Scribe said...

As do I. Meaning is a crucial part of any story, even though sometimes we don't notice the meaning behind our own writing.

Oh, and I'm slightly confused as to whether you want to enter our contest or not. I'll be assuming that you do, so correct me if I'm wrong.

RED~Scribe said...

One last thing: Your header has a mistake in it. It says "reviews,recommendations" with no space between it. Just thought I'd point that out.

Jake said...

Thanks, Eldra! I'll fix that ASAP. :)

As for your other question, yes. I haven't yet gotten around to following one of Leauphan's (spelling?) blogs--due to a mess-up with my computer--but I will soon. :) So that's a yes...

Nathan R. Petrie said...

Hmmmm what story has been written without meaning? :D

Jake said...

Meaning is meaning 'morality'. But there are many books with fake meaning. >_>