Nothing Stays the Same

Posted by Natasha Moore, 05/05/07 08:00 AM

One of the first things I learned when I started studying writing was that our characters need to grow and change during the story. I suppose there’s some fiction out there where a character goes through a series of ups and downs and ends up no different at the end of the story than he or she was at the beginning but honestly, I don’t enjoy those kinds of stories. I love stories where the characters start out at one place in their lives and through the events of the story, and the interaction with the other characters, they end up in a new, better place at the end. For me, those stories have satisfying endings. They seem real.

So why, in real life, do we expect things to stay the same? When we like our lives the way they are, we hope they’ll never change. If we don’t like where we are in our lives, we doubt things will ever be different. Even when we know life doesn’t stay the same, those changes can still take us by surprise.

My life has been going through a lot of changes lately. Recently we sold the house our children grew up in and moved to an apartment. Our daughter is getting married in a few weeks. Our son moved out last year and now he’s moving back in. I finally sold several projects after writing and submitting for years.

So I’ve had to sort through years and years of stuff and decide what I don’t need or want anymore, and what I simply can’t part with. I’ve watched my daughter and her fiancé make plans for their new life together. I have to give up the office I so recently set up so our son can have a place to sleep. I’m learning about edits and promotion and blogging and all the other things revolving around a writing career.

For the most part I like where I am right now. But I’m not going to stay here. I plan to be able to leave my day job in few years to write full time. I look forward to have grandchildren to play with and give back when they cry. I hope to get my office back and my son on his feet again. I’m excited to see where my writing career will go.

Nothing in life stays the same. We can only enjoy the journey and do what we can to end up where we want to be. Until life changes direction again.

Now off to take my characters on their own journey.

Natasha

Category: , | 05/05/07 08:00 AM
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Comments: [6]

  1. 1 Tricia Jones

    That’s a thought provoking post, Natasha. Change can be really scary, but in a good way as well as not so good. I suppose it’s all down to the way we view it – stepping stone or stumbling block – and then finding a way to go with the flow of it all. As the saying goes – there’s nothing permanent in life, except change.

    Good luck on your own journey.

    Comment by Tricia Jones · May 6, 07:22 AM
  2. 2 Diane Craver

    I can relate to your post, Natasha. We’ve had children move out, live on their own, and then return home for a short period of time. As a parent, you want to be there for them when they need a little help, but it’s an adjustment.

    That’s great you’re flexible, and I’m sure your son appreciates you giving up your office for him.

    Comment by Diane Craver · May 6, 09:22 AM
  3. 3 Denise A. Agnew

    This is always a great topic, because I know that some of the best stories I’ve read are full of life changing possibilies and events for the characters. Even in action-oriented stories, if an author can truly show the changes in the character, it makes for an even better story. :)

    Denise A. Agnew
    Step off the edge…
    Into dark, delicious adventure…
    www.deniseagnew.com

    Comment by Denise A. Agnew · May 6, 11:12 AM
  4. 4 Jody W.

    Many great reads focus on this part of a character’s life — DURING the metamorphosis. How people adapt can be fascinating. In romance, we want to see how the lovers adapt to one another, to the realization that this relationship they may be eager or reluctant to enter is huge and overwhelming. In speculative romances, we sometimes get the added kick of seeing how a character adapts to the knowledge that the world isn’t what he or she thought. All that upheaval — so much fun to read about!

    Jody Wallace
    http://www.jodywallace.com

    Comment by Jody W. · May 6, 12:29 PM
  5. 5 N.J. Walters

    Very interesting post, Natasha.

    It’s funny—all life is about change, but we resist it. It’s human nature, I think, to want things to remain the same—comfortable. Yet, we don’t grow if things don’t change.

    It’s easier in books when we can just read about it. Harder when we’re the ones forced to do the changing and growing.

    Comment by N.J. Walters · May 6, 02:20 PM
  6. 6 Rose Marie Wolf

    Great post. Very thought provoking.

    Much Love Always,
    Rose Marie Wolf
    www.rosemariewolf.com

    Comment by Rose Marie Wolf · May 6, 08:00 PM

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