Victoria is the author of The Choir Girls series. She is a wife, a mom to three girls, a full-fledged homebody, a so-so housekeeper, a mediocre musician and has dreamed of writing her whole life. She lives at the foot of the Rockies in Littleton, Colorado and she will never take that for granted. She loves French fries, superhero TV shows and movies, and cats. She could probably love the beach if she ever spent any time there. Her thoughts live at www.victoriakimble.com.
You know that person who makes questionable choices no matter how many people have told them not to do it? Maybe it’s your friend who keeps going back to that bad boyfriend, even though you’ve told her that she deserves better. Or maybe it’s your little sister who just wants to try something for herself because she’s not sure that people are telling her the truth about something. Isn’t that so frustrating? You have information that can help them, and they just don’t want to listen.
Enter storytelling. Stories are so powerful because they have the ability to touch someone deep in their soul. They are non-threatening, because they are about someone else and the reader gets to choose which part they like best. They are intimate, because stories are usually read by yourself, without anyone chiming in their two cents. (Unless you’re a part of a book club, but hopefully if you’re in one you’re there because you chose to be.)
Even so much of Jesus’ ministry on earth happened through stories. He knew that the things He was trying to teach were revolutionary and outside the box, and the best way for people to understand them was through a story. This means that you as a story-teller have incredible power. You get to present ideas and information and truth in a way that can change someone’s life.
Stories have had an incredible impact on my life. I made so many decisions based on the stories I read as I was growing up. Stories gave me new perspectives on life that I had never considered and helped me to make better choices. I’ll be honest, there are some things that my parents told me about life that I just didn’t want to believe until I read it in a story.
Keep working on the craft of storytelling. Find the very best way to create characters and engineer plot lines to communicate the truths you have learned. Use the ups and downs of your life as a springboard for stories that might help someone else who is going through things you have gone through. Even the closest people to you might be able to hear your heart and your advice better if it is said through a story. And that is a gift that will honor the Lord.
Thanks for stopping by, Victoria!
Readers: What kind of impact have stories made on your life? Why are you passionate about storytelling?
I absolutely love this!! Stories have had so much impact on my life, even when I was really little. I've read books that make me see the Gospel as if I had never heard it before. I've read books that are so wonderfully written that they inspire my own writing. And I am passionate about storytelling because I want to write books like this. Since I've experienced how impacting books can be, I am driven to write.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for this awesome post!!
~Talia
That's why I'm driven to write too, Talia! Blessings on your writing!
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