Writing Forever Stories

Hello dear readers, and welcome back to my blog! I recently returned from a very inspiring Hutchmoot (where I got to meet Andrew Peterson!) and have lots of session notes to share with you all! (All of which were written in a beautiful embroidered notebook I acquired at the Swapmoot table, so thank you, anonymous mooter!)

One of the sessions I attended felt right up my alley. It was called Forever Stories, and the speakers were Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears, the creators of a brand new animated short film called FOREVERGREEN. (The session included an exclusive screening of it, and it was honestly one of the best films I’ve seen all year!) Along with lots of doodles– because who doesn’t love doodling while listening to sessions?– I took some really amazing notes that helped solidify my love for storytelling, especially the kind of storytelling I enjoy.

I’ve read a lot of books by Christian authors that all included varying degrees of Christian content. Some books contain vast and expansive allegories of biblical events, while others feel just like reading a good book, but something about the story leaves you filled with a certain hope that seems like more than just a happy ending. FOREVERGREEN takes the best from both, creating not just a good story, but a forever story.

FOREVERGREEN is a blend of modern storytelling and hints of allegory, all woven together in a way that creates a powerful message behind a seemingly simple story. It’s this message that should drive the story, giving your characters a purpose for being there. Your story should have a forever lesson.

C.S. Lewis talked about good stories sneaking past the “watchful dragons” of the soul. The idea that fables and fairy tales are an instrument to carry deep messages, something nonfiction would never do as well, is a profound one, and one that has been utilized for hundreds of years. But the way to do this, to write stories that are able to sneak past these dragons, is through a forever lesson. A theme that is more than a word, but a question: “What about love?” “How do leaders lead humbly?” “Are we in control?”

The speakers discussed this theme in the context of “survival skills”. They wanted to teach a lesson through FOREVERGREEN that would help viewers in their daily lives, one that would ultimately bring them to realize their sins and turn to Christ. They wanted to teach them sacrifice, and love, and humility, and gratitude. They wanted to teach them what it looked like to give your life for someone who may not deserve it, but who needs it anyway. Sound familiar?

Through the film, we saw images of Jesus– or really, what Jesus did for us. We saw a story that evoked the same emotions and stirred the same deep longing within us as that of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. But even if you didn’t know the story of the Bible, you could see that we sacrifice for the people we love. You could see the hope of a continued story, a future made all the brighter because of it.

But let’s go a little deeper. To create a forever lesson, we need two things: a goal and a theme. Ultimately, the goal should be to tell a forever story with eternal weight and purpose in order to start a conversation about God. We need to remember this goal as we write and more importantly, as we live. We need to live out our calling as Christians to share Jesus’ light through the way we live.

But we also need a theme, a question that we can ask and then answer through our story. As you plan your story, think of your theme as the armature of a clay model. You never see it, but everything is supported by it. Every plot point, every action your character takes, every revelation and rude awakening. The theme is what will hold up your entire story, and from that, a subtle message will be gifted to your readers.

There are many ways to write a story, and many ways to plan one. But if we want our stories to have an eternal impact for the kingdom, it doesn’t matter how much flowery prose we write, or how many action scenes, or how deep our allegory goes, or how well our characters are written, or how far we go into outlining. If we want to have an eternal impact for the kingdom, we need to remember one thing:

The only stories that last forever are filled with the Spirit.

If we pour our heart and God’s calling into writing a forever lesson that will resonate with and inspire readers not only in this life, but eternally, that is how we can sneak past the watchful dragons of the soul. That is how we write for the kingdom of God.

So, what’s your forever story?

See you among the shelves,

Emma G. McKee

(You can find out more about Hutchmoot on their website: www.rabbitroom.com/hutchmoot , and the FOREVERGREEN film on their website: www.forevergreenfilm.com )

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