Write with Impact Definition: Timeless

Mythic Impact

“The struggle for human dignity is one of humankind’s basic conflicts.” Ronald B. Tobias

For any story to have impact it needs to touch at least one seed of: basic needs, kindred spirits, compassion, justice, and many more themes that equal a timeless quality.

Why? That is a basic story question that must be answered every time to have a satisfactory ending. And it is a question each person struggles with personally in varying concerns throughout a lifetime. Throughout eras and history and science and faith.

Tobias says that theme is your inertial guidance system. However, to have impact, it needs to go deeper than a surface answer, especially ones that may only be plot devices. Even when the subject is a lighthearted comedy or romance the feelings, and questions, and answers, need to have real substance.   

This is one reason I think why some considered poorly written novels and cheesy movies outvote critical reviews for popularity. Their heart has an essence that resonates in spite of, and maybe because of, many flaws. Readers and viewers identify.

The movie The Princess Bride was originally not a box-office success; yet it went on to develop a huge following when released to home videos. Many fans can quote the movie almost line by line and, according to wikipedia, a BBC film critic considers it a model to which similar films should aspire.

The Harry Potter series upended the publishing world with both positive and negative commentary. There didn’t seem to be any middle ground when it first launched.

From a serious viewpoint, one biblical prophet challenges his listeners with a timeless statement, “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you, But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?”  Micah 6:8

Impact=Timeless. Seed fiction and non-fiction narratives with mystery, yearning, truth, hope, imagination, creativity; then add inspiration, memory, potential, action, and courage as genre appropriate. Impact=heart and mind and soul as unforgettable.

Share: What does your heart most desire in a story?

Read deep, marcy

Create With Mystery

“Location is the crossroads of circumstance, the proving ground of ‘What happened? Who’s here? Who’s coming?’ –and that is the heart’s field.” Eudora Welty

Although all four stories in Central Park Rendezvous are guided by the same three key details: letters, a coin and a bridge, they each develop the story mystery with completely different emphasis.

The contemporary, Dream a Little Dream by Ronie Kendig, combines two mysteries, a personal one as the main characters begin to understand each other, and a ‘What Happened’ as they try to unravel a missing person from forty years ago.

In Dineen Miller’s A Love Meant To Be, mis-understanding, jealousy, and interference crush hope in two lives. Can the scattered jigsaw pieces of circumstances and fear fit into a whole new beginning?

To Sing Another Day, by Kim Vogel Sawyer tackles “Who’s here?’ as both main characters try to unravel their mystery with crumb size clues. She can’t understand why someone who left her is such despair is now bringing gifts. Or is it someone else? He can’t bear watching her struggle without faith. Can he really help or is he making the situation worse?

Mary Lu Tyndall, battles with truth and honesty in lives torn apart by war in Beauty For Ashes. An honorable man gradually uncovers the secrets kept hidden under selfish desires and realizes the trap before him. So he prays for time. And waits at the bridge to see who is coming.

All plausible abodes. All everyday common. And all touched by translucence when hearts allow love to breathe metaphor and maps and memory and mystery throughout their stories.

Journal Prompt:

            In your novel look for your bridge (a specific recurring location), your letter (information) and your coin (a valued keepsake). Write up a history question for them in three time stages, either over a past year, or decade or longer. And/or write up a future mystery thread for them to play into—again with three time frames.

Share: Which one was the hardest to capture? Which the most fun?

Create With Mystery

The lure of a mystery is present in all genres due to the main story question. If we are hooked at the beginning we will read, even through dull sections, determined to find the end’s answer. Chapter endings, scene endings need to leave us with that pause of ‘will she or won’t she succeed or fail’. The books and movies that keep us wondering breathe that mystery thread with both multiple possibilities and/or multiple questions.

The movie Shag keeps several story lines as bait.

For the trip itself, we are introduced to each girl leaving in the car, two by choice, one by stealth and one reluctantly so our first questions are why the hesitation and will they get away. Then will they caught when they head for a different place? If they get caught what will the consequences be? To everyone or just those whose property has been ruined? Each step of the trip requires a choice and each choice has unforeseen consequences that keep the reader wondering.

Another thread of questions lies in character discovery. With each girl acting a little out of character we begin to wonder if everyone is not what he or she seem to be. What are the hidden agendas? Which parts are masks and which parts are real? Sometimes the characters themselves aren’t sure which adds even more suspense. Or are others misunderstanding what they see?

Journal Prompt: On a recent TV series one of the main characters is caught by some incriminating photographs that become publicized as an affair and yet in reality are not. Put your character is a compromising situation, and then list three to five alternative reasons that she is there. Choose the one that will require the most confusion as to why or the one with the most costly consequences.

Share: What movie or novel kept you on the edge of your seat until the final page?