Stories

There are millions of stories out there. Books, movies, old legends, etc... A lot of them have a lot of things in them that are really unnecessary, and there are quite a few that really have no meaning to them what so ever. But still, there are a lot of stories that do have meaning, and there is a way that it can tie into many things, for authors, film makers, and other groups who enter the realm of art. As a writer and artist, being part of the church group has always made me very cautious about what I write and draw. But here's the thing. Everything you do should reflect not only who you are but what you believe. There should be a recognizable style of the individual, and a readable meaning in each piece of work. This however doesn't mean you have to be as restricted and careful as many people would have you believe. There are a lot of people who say any sort of magic in a book is witchcraft so they can't read it. But I myself have read many books containing magic with an undeniably christian meaning behind the story. There are lessons in everything, especially books. Stories are an important part of a persons life from when they are just little kids. So wouldn't it be a writers job to make sure they are teaching the right thing in their stories? Or a singers job to make sure what they are singing has a significant meaning to it that is designed to help people? A lot of what people read and listen to is full of garbage and meaningless words, or worse, damaging words. The moral compass of the world keeps getting further and further from pointing north. Why is that? Perhaps because people don't learn what they really need to learn. They don't understand what's right and wrong. Art, music, books... Most of it is full of poison, but everyone drinks it willingly. Why? Because the poison is mixed with food and all they know is they're hungry and that the food is there in front of them. Too many Christian authors sacrifice good stories that would interest a lot of people because they think that it's bad to have say... An alien race in the book because God doesn't talk about making any other intelligent beings in the universe. Or that a character who has magical abilities is wrong because that would be witchcraft. However, there is something that's very important. You need to look behind the story. Because that's all it is. A story. Something to feed the imagination. If you look behind the stories and read the meanings, then suddenly you'll find yourself looking at everything that happened in a different light. See what was really going on that was hidden before. While there are a lot of books like this, sometimes the authors are Christian, sometimes not, there isn't enough good meaning in stories anymore. At least, not in the ones people read. But why don't they read the ones with good morals and meanings in them? Well, think of it this way. A lot of Christian books are very dry and not all that entertaining, but they have some very good morals to them. Then there are books that are all spiced up and are very interesting to read, but with bad morals behind the story. Books are food for the brain. I've heard a lot of people talk about how healthy food tastes bad. But it doesn't have to. You can make food that tastes way better than most of the stuff around today that is much, much healthier. So why can't we do the same with stories today? The fact is we can. The two most important things to a book is first a good story, second good morals. Too many authors focus on having good morals and not so much the story that the story loses most of what makes it interesting. Sure it's got a good meaning, but the book isn't going to grab the attention of many people. You want to create something that nearly everyone can and will read while at the same time it contains a lot of good lessons, or even just one good lesson. We shouldn't sacrifice one for the other.  We should have the normal, and at the same time, something different. But not just different something more, something better. Like if you walk down the street wearing a cowboy outfit because you think that's what you need to do to be a good christian, people are going to avoid you. However if you wear just normal clothes, but the way you live reflects Jesus and his love towards others and yourself, then people will notice you not because of what you look like, but because there's something different, something more. That should be the case with stories as well.

I hope you found this post interesting, helpful, and understandable.

~SoR