They say the best stories reflect life. My experience says life is messy, difficult, filled with trials and tribulations. If the tales we write were all about rainbows and unicorns, they would feel unreal, unbelievable, and the reader would soon throw the book across the room. Or I would.
Writing fiction riddled with gloom, doom, and terror would be equally unsatisfactory. Mired in deep despair, when all is lost, I search, hunting for a glimmer, a flickering light beckoning at the tunnel’s end. I fervently hope the light is not a freight train barreling toward me. Lost causes, desperate situations hide miraculous resolutions. Wayward heroes discover novel ways to set things right. Despondent characters unearth a reason to carry on. Novels that give me a reason to hope are the ones I cherish.
How do you balance light and dark in your stories?
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Jo Hawk 
I totally agree. Redemption is not only more palatable, it’s more realistic. Sure, when a crisis hits, a lot of selfish people hog all the toilet paper. But when things get really bad–life or death, collapse of society bad–history (an ample research I believe) shows that humans, as fundamentally social animals, come together and protect each other. Which is why I struggle to get into shows like the Walking Dead.
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Good points, JM. Initial reactions are often a result of fear, and are fueled by insecurities and the unknown. But our need to ensure the survival of our society is part of the reason we are still here. Great concepts to incorporated into a character arch, right? 😊
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Indeed.
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Great quote!!
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Glad you liked it. 🙏
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🙂
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Reblogged this on The Reluctant Poet.
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Thank you for sharing. ✨💖✨
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