Flaps Blog

Nobody trained me to write ? which is why my first works probably suck. But every new show I write, I learn from my experience during my previous work. Then I also read how the masters do it, so as to learn from them ? and I?ll be quoting Robert Mc Gee as I journey with my thoughts ? And then one of the things that help me most in writing is understanding that stories are just like life itself.

What would the rejected lover say when he catches his girl cheating in him? He might freak out or he might just turn around and walk away. It depends on him. And a story unfolds in the same way life does. And characters are real, and they respond to triggers ? individually, as do we all.

When I understood this, writing became so much easier. Of course it?s more complicated! And a story has to be planned and developed, and there are plots and sub-plots that have to be developed and?and? and? But when all of that is done and the characters become alive, the writer has to keep them REAL. And allow them to be.

So in my next series of blogs I intend to draw some parallels between The STORY and my life ? or YOURS.

I haven?t figured this out. And much of my thoughts will unfold as I tussle with them - as does a story develop when the writer wrestles with it, and as the characters integrate with each other. I?m simply journeying and inviting you to join.

I invite you to reflect on The Story ? and to reflect on Your Story. To think ? to contemplate ? to consider? To chew over what I say and what others may contribute. To chew over what God, the author of life, is creating in your life.

And allow him to hold the pen.

As I embark on this journey I want to credit Don Miller for opening these thoughts in my mind.