I seek the magic of stories
Stories connect us.
As a writer, there is no greater truth I believe in.
Yesterday, as I was watching the movie Maara, I couldn’t help but reiterate the truth.
The woman seated adjacent to little Paru on the bus narrated a story, which cemented their bond. And it was that story that took Paru on her journey to seek out Maara. It was that story that gave Maara his purpose and, in turn, brought him into so many people’s lives, changing them for the better. And it was that story that made it possible for two people who had longed for each from afar to come together at last.
“Stories can conquer fear, you know. They can make the heart bigger.”
― Ben Okri
Every culture has stories that get passed on. Through these stories, we learn about life, death, and beliefs of the community. Ramayana, Mahabharata, Aesop’s fables, Panchatantra, Bible, and Quran are just some works of literature that we have read or heard growing up. It was told to us to guide us and teach us the values that generations before have believed in. Stories bring people together, young and old, and it helps connect with each other, live, and work collectively in harmony.
In my life, books have played an important role. It continues to do so even today.
“I spent my life folded between the pages of books. In the absence of human relationships, I formed bonds with paper characters. I lived love and loss through stories threaded in history; I experienced adolescence by association. My world is one interwoven web of words, stringing limb to limb, bone to sinew, thoughts, and images all together. I am a being comprised of letters, a character created by sentences, a figment of imagination formed through fiction.”
― Tahereh Mafi, Shatter Me
Stephen King’s journey (I highly recommend that everyone read his memoir on the craft of writing) taught me I can’t half-ass it. Not in life. Not in writing.
Fictional characters like Theodore Finch (All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven) opened my heart and mind to accept that my depression isn’t going away overnight. And it made me prioritize my mental health and work on getting better.
Books like Nightingale (by Kristin Hannah) transported me back through the years to a different era of war, despair, and suffering. I was awed by human resilience, and I learned to hope.
If I were to describe all the characters I had befriended and all the lessons I had learned over the years, it will probably fill a book.
Stories are akin to magic. Some clung to me, changing how I viewed the world, evolving my sense of self and purpose. Others drove me forward, making me believe I could do great things. It made me introspect and build my non-negotiables.
“Who in the world am I? Ah, that’s the great puzzle.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Some stories helped me engage with the world and made me feel like I, too, belong somewhere.
In my eyes, storytellers are magicians, teachers, imaginary friends with the gift not only to tell great stories but to help others weave their own story to tell the world.
Every time I ask myself why I want to be a writer, I remind myself of the power of words.
“Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts.”
― Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind
I remind myself of the responsibility to give back. I want to help like how numerous authors have helped me engage with reality, build my values, grow into myself.
I am full of untold stories. Now I just have to find the right words to make them sing.
