Sometimes I wrestle with the content of my stories.
There's so much sadness in the world. Why would I want to contribute to this with my own tales of loss and violence and abuse?
There's Genesis, of course, dealing with this otherworldly war that she's been dragged into. Some of her friends return; some don't. Jaden ends up in her own crossfire situation, which forces her to question everything she knows about the guy she loves. Fallon's stepfather is violent and unpredictable. Summer struggles with her memory of a single night that changed her entire life--how can she grieve the loss of her best friend when she doesn't even know what happened to her? And even in my Christmas novella, Olivia's mom is in the middle of a cancer battle. Next Christmas could be very different for all of them.
Meanwhile, the guys (men, really, because most of my love interests edge toward the 18+ side) who love them or are learning to love them stand by--sometimes helpless, sometimes not. . . .
The fact is: there's at least one part in each of my stories where everything reaches peak point of heartbreak (sometimes after a series of heartbreaks).
And sure, maybe I should be writing happier stories (escapism, anyone?) and not trying to make my readers cry all the time, but in truth there *is* tragedy in the world--it's all around us--and often we have very little control over both what happens and the aftermath. Still, it's in these moments that we gain clarity and perspective.
It's when our world is crashing down around us that we tend to rethink and reassess--strip our life down to its most basic meaning. In these moments we decide what matters most, and that's when big changes happen.
An unexpected tragedy shows that there is a larger world at work in your novel. It lifts the characters out of themselves, proving that destiny is, in fact, a thing, and it's as much a part of your story world as it is in the current world in which we live.
And what is reading if not practice for the real world?
If our characters can survive a tragedy, so can we.
So maybe the tears are worthwhile, after all.
*passes you tissues, keeps on writing*
Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
