When writing fiction, all the experts say you need a good hook to draw your readers in - an inciting incident to propel the story forward and keep readers turning the pages. That, and you have to make your readers care about your characters. If readers feel invested in your characters, they'll keep reading.
A fair amount of drama doesn't hurt either. A secret past or hidden identity is often a good move.
And action if possible.
And engaging dialogue. Definitely that.
And good pacing in tandem with a good story arc.
In other words, it takes a lot to gain a reader's interest in a story and then to subsequently hold that interest till the end of the book.
This is all well and good in the fiction world. People tend to read fiction for the enjoyment of entering another world and living vicariously through fictional characters. I am one of those people. My particular preference is historical fiction set in 1800s America or the WWII era set anywhere in the world. Add in some romance and my satisfaction is complete. I love learning history through the eyes and ears of fictional characters, and I love exploring the cultures of bygone ages through the narrative descriptions filling the pages of a novel.
I'm also a rather critical reader. I fully invest in the main characters to the point that I can get frustrated when there's a hole in the narrative that did a disservice to the characters or when the backstory isn't believable or when the character acts out of character in a way that isn't purposeful to the story line. The reason I nitpick over details is because I expect fiction to be neatly packaged even if the characters themselves are a hot mess or the story doesn't lead to an ending I'd prefer.
But that's the way of fiction. It can be well constructed and delivered because it's completely made up. Characters can grow and change over the course of the story. They can speak only the words worth speaking that will drive the story along. They can appear in scenes that are interesting and critical because any uninteresting or uncritical scene has been deleted from the draft. The story can move along with smooth transitions from one chapter to the next, and loose ends can be tied up.
That's why I love fiction. It's relatively crisp and neat, no matter what events are actually happening in the story line.
When I think about what makes an interesting story - about what the fiction experts say is necessary - I'm struck by how much those requirements do not fit reality.
Even people who have plenty of drama in their life can't say they've always had smooth transitions from one scene to the next. They can't say they're experts at spoken exchanges, always saying whatever is compelling and eloquent at the right time and place. They can't say they didn't have long stretches of nothing new happening and wishing they could skip ahead to the next interesting part of the story.
If people with plenty of drama in their life can't say that, then people without much drama can't say that either.
I'm someone without much drama in my life. Anyone hearing my story wouldn't find much to be interested in. Perhaps the most interesting thing about me is that I moved overseas to be a missionary, which has proven interesting to many people, but isn't the stuff of fiction per se. There's very little action in my story and certainly no secret past or hidden identity to kick things off. I live a relatively simply, mundane, uninteresting life.
My story will never be told in a fiction narrative because the one problem with fiction is that it doesn't recognize a universal truth: all stories are interesting page-turners to God.
God is the creator of all things. He is the creator of the earth and everything in it. He is the creator of humanity. He is the creator of stories. He is the creator of our stories and He is very much interested in them.
One thing my attempts at writing fiction has taught me is this: creators of characters and their stories care deeply about those characters and their stories, even if no one else does, even if no one else understands why that scene pricks your own heart or why that part of a personality resonates with you or why that choice kept you thinking long past your bedtime. Creators of characters care deeply about their characters.
And God, as the creator of us and our stories, cares deeply about us and our stories. He was hooked the moment He created us and He's invested in how the story goes and where it goes. Every page is meaningful to Him and there isn't a single human story that He'll give up on because it just wasn't engaging enough to Him. His interest and His love for our stories have no bounds.
He is the Author and the Reader. He simultaneously writes our stories and reads them. I imagine Him writing with one hand and turning a page with the other, devouring what's there because He's so moved and captivated by our stories.
Psalm 139 paints a poignant picture of how much God invests Himself in us. Our lives are at the center of His thoughts, at the heart of His consideration:
Psalm 139 paints a poignant picture of how much God invests Himself in us. Our lives are at the center of His thoughts, at the heart of His consideration:
O Lord, you have searched me and you know me (and are interested in me despite my boring life).
You know when I sit and when I rise (even though most of my sittings and risings are not worth mentioning).
You perceive my thoughts from afar (and understand them even when they're jumbled and unintelligible and not worth putting into words much less putting on paper).
You discern my going out and my lying down (because You care about every coming and going and watch over me even as I sleep).
You are familiar with all my ways (even the monotonous ways).
Before a word is on my tongue, you know it completely, O Lord (and love me the same whether the words coming off my tongue make You proud or make You cringe).
You hem me in - behind and before (even though sometimes I should probably be hemmed out).
You have laid your hand upon me (and keep it there no matter what).
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain!
Psalm 139 was written by someone with more drama than even the greatest fiction writers could possibly concoct. King David's life seems like the stuff of fiction on steroids, so it's ironic that his words speak so strongly to someone as uninteresting as me. Yet I take heart in these truths written by someone whose life was a riveting page-turner.
God knows me and is familiar with all my ways and His hand is laid upon me.
God is interested in my story. He's invested, deeply invested, and such knowledge is too wonderful for me.
Especially because it means I can connect with my Creator without wondering if He'll want to connect with me too. If anything, He is the one reminding me that He loves my story and that it matters.
Our stories are not the end-all. None of us have the greatest story ever written, but all of us have a story that intersects with it. Our stories are possible because God, the Creator, wrote a grand story that includes all of us and which gives our stories purpose and meaning.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain!
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