Not All Stories Need a Happy Ending: Daring to Make Others Uncomfortable for the Sake of Truthful Storytelling

S2_E44. EPISODE DESCRIPTION -Last week we spoke about confronting the issue of fear in writing. This week we will continue our series by differentiating ‘nice’ and ‘kind,’ and what it looks like to make others feel uncomfortable for the sake of telling the truth. We need to be brave enough yo be honest rather than polite. Taking these ideas further,  a common misconception I see with many writers is that they believe every story, and specifically their story, needs to have a happy ending. I am here to tell you, that not every story needs a happy ending.What every story needs, is a believable ending. ‘Nice,’ in the way we use it today, is ‘feel good,’ and that’s not good writing. To be kind is to allow our characters the free will to choose, and to suffer the consequences or rewards that come from those choices. This is also believable, since it’s how it actually works in real life, and therefore reflects the truth of reality as God created it. In God’s economy we learn that even when characters suffer at the end because of their poor choices or actions, while it may not be a happy ending, it is a kind one, since it tells the truth about the way the world works, and ultimately calls our audience to repentance. DOWNLOAD FULL TRANSCRIPTS FOR FREE on the podcast page of our website.UP NEXT - Next week I give you the four essential characteristics you need to write heroic characters into your story. HELPFUL LINKS AND RESOURCES -The Storyteller’s Mission online platform offers one-on-one COACHING, SCRIPT and MANUSCRIPT CRITIQUES, and ADVANCED CLASSES ON WRITING. Send us an email at [email protected], or if you have a question or a specific writing related topic that you would like Zena to consider addressing on a future episode, LEAVE US A VOICEMAIL!Send us Fan MailSupport the show