path of the storyteller / blog
Do our values matter when we write?
Today I’m thinking about values—those core beliefs that guide us as we go through life.
Some people think a lot about their values; some people don’t give them much thought at all. When life goes according to plan, our values can run largely on instinct. Our sense of the right way to proceed seems instinctive.
It’s when things don't go according to plan—when we have really tough decisions to make, or are confronted with a situation for which we have no real preparation—that’s when our values come into the spotlight. How do we behave when there’s no clear script to follow?
And now you see why the idea of values matters so much when we write.
Hard choices and high-stakes, unprecedented situations are the stuff great stories are made of.
Writing good fiction requires us to grapple with the toughest kinds of values-based decisions, scene after scene after scene. How does our hero decide what to do...
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Maryrose Wood
I’m the author of fourteen published novels, including ALICE’S FARM, A RABBIT’S TALE (Macmillan, 2020) and the six-book Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series (Balzer + Bray / HarperCollins). I founded Path of the Storyteller in 2020 to offer serious writing craft training for writers who’re ready to take their work up to pro level. Here’s where I blog about writing craft, publishing, and the writing life in general. Learn more at pathofthestoryteller.com.
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