Which is why I’m pleased, on the one hand, to share this great article from Charlie Jane Anders at io9, while on the other hand it shames me a bit to realize that yet again I’m sharing someone else’s work here rather than creating my own.

In praise of seat-of-the-pants storytelling.

CJ’s article is about storytelling (with a focus on television storytelling), but in my mind it applies just as well to faith, creativity, and LIFE in all its chaotic glory. It also applies very well to the style of roleplaying that I enjoy. In any case it spoke volumes to me – your mileage may vary – but even if you don’t agree with the main premise, you’ll at least get a sense of where people like me are coming from.

My life for the last 20+ years has been a story living by the seat of its pants. It is nothing like what it seemed like it would be at the end of high school. In fact, it doesn’t even resemble the life it seemed like it would be after the first few major plot twists.  That’s probably true of most people, so I’m not claiming exclusivity … but it has been a crazy ride. And I don’t regret all the twists and choices and setbacks, but …

I HAVE recently realized that even though the plot of my life has played out very differently than the early drafts suggested, the THEME of my life has never really changed. The thing my story wants to say – NEEDS to say – is still what it was back at the start.

So maybe that’s the thing I take out of this article most profoundly. The notion is this … the plot will go off in all sorts of unexpected directions and characters you thought were essential will suddenly quit on you, and people will give you lots of feedback about what they think you ought to do, and they’ll demand answers about what the hell you’re trying to pull, but all of that is okay … IF you remain true to your thematics.

MY mistake was that I abandoned my thematics when my plot twists started happening. But I believe I’ve been given my theme back. And now, with that in my heart, I can move forward through the plot assured that it is not too late to save the story.

Oddly, this might be the perfect launch-point for getting back to writing my own stuff. I don’t feel the pressure to prove my theory before sharing it anymore. And gosh, this actually turned into a post that contains a pretty good chunk of my own writing, eh?

So in the coming days, maybe I can finally start peeling away the layers and sharing what I think my theme actually is.