Easter weekend got me reflecting about a few things, not the least of which are stories. Stories make a difference in our lives. If you ever need to be reminded of that, think of Jesus. Seriously. No matter what you think about the guy, whether you like him or not, you've heard of him, right? Right. He's kind of well known. In his own lifetime, crowds of thousands followed him around--literally hounded him into the wilderness--to get a chance to hear him speak.
And when he spoke, he generally just told stories.
His stories, in fact, are a huge part of why he's remembered. Whether you believe he is the Son of God or just some teacher, isn't it kind of encouraging that when faced with an enormous platform he decided the best way to communicate his message was not to give a speech, but to tell a story? I know he also gave straight-forward lessons, sans fiction, but he sure did use a heck of a lot of fiction. And it changed the way people think. Those stories have shaped the world's history.
If you do believe he is the Son of God, it gets even better. I mean, I can think of nothing more validating for a writer than knowing that THE FREAKING SON OF GOD decided stories were the best way to do his thing during his public three-year journey on earth. No biggie, right?
Stories are not just for our enjoyment. Stories matter. So if you're writing them and anyone, anywhere, ever tries to tell you that making up fairytales is a "waste of time" or some nonsense like that, just say that Jesus did it.
Then ignore them and get back to writing.
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