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Why do we read?
I believe that great storytelling offers us much that we need:
- Entertainment: great stories have conflict and drama, love and hate, battles and romance, heroes and villains, and so much more. Watching them act is a thrill but we are not only watching. Reading allows us to participate. No other form of entertainment is quite like it.
- Escape: one can argue that the real world can be--well, we all know. It's nice and often necessary to escape it from time-to-time. There's no other form of escape that is as engrossing and rewarding as well-written fiction. Why? Because we, as readers, get to use our imaginations and our own creativity to assist the author in the telling of the story. Every reader brings his or her own experiences, values, understanding, and interpretation to every story they read. When we have the chance to explore a well-crafted and emersive storyworld, follow the twists and turns of a stellar plot, and fall in love with or hate fully fleshed out characters, the escape is both complete and rewarding.
- Personal Growth: great storytelling communicates the "code of maturity". (See Anatomy of Story by John Truby.) What's this? The protagonist must face his or her weaknesses, flaws, wrong beliefs, and bad behaviors if he or she wants to defeat the villain. The true central conflict of any great story is the one within the protagonist. As we live through the protagonist we too must consider our own weaknesses, flaws, wrong beliefs, and bad behaviors--at least by comparison. As the protagonist succeeds or fails we too succeed or fail. When the protagonist grows we grow. We experience risk by proxy. This is valuable, as risk with consequences can be a bit much. A great story is one that leaves you changed for the better.
- To Understand our Values: great fiction often compares and contrasts differing, even opposing, sets of values. In less-than-great fiction the villain's motive for opposing the hero is often shallow or he may have no reason at all for his evil actions. In great fiction the villain is often driven by a different set of values than the protagonist. It is in part because of the conflicting methods and aims of these two opposing value systems that the protagonist and villain battle. As we watch the characters act, and when we know what motivates them, we get to evaluate their beliefs. We will see our own values mirrored in the characters and in seeing these values tested we will gain insight into ourselves.
- For Connection: publishers and critics may think of genre as a set of must-haves. For instance, fantasy must have swords, sorcery, adventure, and monsters. Science fiction must have fantastic technologies, far-away, alien worlds, and--well, monsters. But genre is more than this. It's a community, a connection. We read the genres we love because they connect us to the larger community of fantasy, or science fiction, or cozy-mystery fiction, or whatever community/communities we love.
These are the reasons why I write. I want to tell great stories. I hope that each story I write offers the reader entertainment, escape, the opportunity for personal growth, thought-provoking themes, and connection to the larger communities of fantasy, horror, and fiction in general.
That's my value proposition, my offer.
But I don't only write fiction. I've been living the writer's life, the working artist's life, for almost a decade. I've learned a lot. It's my intention to share everything I've learned so that you, no matter what kind of artist or storyteller you are, can not only survive but thrive.
The Working Artist, How to Thrive Financially and Creatively and The First Million Words, What Writing a Million Words has Taught me About the Craft of Storytelling are intended to pass along everything I've learned. I don't hold anything back. I don't keep secrets. I love the art and craft of storytelling. I want to see them advance. I want the ancients to smile upon us, seeing that we're carrying the torch forward.
If you see value in my offer, please give me a chance: read my fiction. If you enjoy it, share it. Word-of-mouth is the only marketing that really works. There's plenty of free fiction available on this site; including, Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder Roleplaying Game fiction.
All of the stories on this website are free and downloadable in multiple formats. Links are provided after the stories.
If these stories entertain and you want more please head to my Amazon author's page. Or, if you aren't ready for that step, and just want a bit more information about what's available, please go to my Store page.
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