I was just reading an article on the Emmys, which got me thinking about great television.
Which got me thinking about Babylon 5, one of the great television shows of all time.
And I remember the show's creator, J Michael Straczynski, who single-handedly wrote almost every episode (!), saying that he wrote Babylon 5 to be like a classic novel.
And it is. Babylon 5 is the science fiction equivalent of something like War and Peace- historic scope combined with personal storytelling.
The personal storytelling of a classic novel like War and Peace is central to Babylon 5.
And this reminded my of a day or so before hearing George Lucas saying that he wrote the original Star Wars to be in part a family soap opera.
That the personal story of Luke, Leia, and their father Anakin was absolutely central to his conception of the original trilogy that we all know and love.
And that made me realize- personal storytelling is at the heart of a lot of great art and storytelling.
My own two novels have personal storytelling at their very heart too.
And so that is my advice to artists here, especially (bot not only) storytellers: make good personal storytelling part of your inspiration.
Tell stories of fathers and daughters, or fathers and sons, of comrades in arms, of friends seeking a new life.
Make this part of your conception of your story, like George Lucas did in the original Star Wars trilogy, like J Michael Straczynski did in Babylon 5.
This is a powerful inspiration, and will enrich your stories immensely.
Whatever you are telling, there is almost certainly a way to integrate good personal storytelling.
Maybe even your own story.
For people love hearing artists tell their own story.
In subjects like most of my histories, which span centuries, it is harder to include personal storytelling. But you can personalize the story of the entire community of entire nations, and you can include snippets of personal moments. I have tried to do both in my human histories. I will continue to try to do this.
And if you don't know what to write, your own loves and personal storytelling is a good place to start.
Like Geogre Lucas. He loved things like Flash Gordon. So he set out to create his own Flash Gordon, and include personal storytelling in it, even if the heart of the personal storytelling would not even be revealed until the end of part 2 of 3. Your own loves, and personal storytelling.
God loves you! Keep being creative, keep writing or painting or whatever it is you do!
Sincerely,
David S. Annderson