I go through ups and downs with my stories. I will be really excited about something one week, and then despair of it entirely the next. I think this is part of the creative process, a little bit. It’s also part of the Imposter Syndrome battle.
I think the worst it gets is when I start wondering about whether stories are really worth all the time and energy and blood, sweat and tears.
And then I remember this quote:
The Great Stories. The ones that matter. Those are what make it worth it. What makes all the heartache and investment worth every second. Because they have an effect. They make you feel. They do something so well that people can fall in love with a fictional idea, with a storyworld. They give us something we didn’t have before.
This leads to the second quote:
The Great Stories are the ones that give us Hope. They show us the truth of what it looks like to live in this world, to conquer the Darkness that has been clinging to the world since the Garden.
The ones that tell us, it’s only a passing thing. Shadows can only last so long. Darkness cannot prevail against Light. Sometimes the world seems dark. It’s easy to despair. These stories? They tell us not to. They show us that against all odds, against all the forces of evil, good can still win. They show us what to do with our time on this earth.
Which leads me to the final quote:
The good in the world? It’s worth it. Sometimes it seems like there isn’t much. Sometimes it feels like the darkness is drowning out any drops of light. But there is some good in the world. And it’s worth all the fight we have in us to give. This encapsulates what it means for me to tell stories. I want to give Hope. To Inspire. To show people that Darkness can be defeated. That there is good still to fight for. That when the sun comes out, it will shine all the clearer, because darkness has been defeated. And the Truth is? It has. Darkness has died. Jesus defeated death with death. Nothing in this worth has the power to take that away.
So go forth, and fear no darkness. Go forth and Hope.
