Big Story
I believe in living life to the full.
Yeah, that’s pretty cliche. Maybe I read it on a scrapbooking website or something.
Being completely honest, though, I believe it. I believe we all live life as a story, our story grafted into a much larger story.
As a Christian, I believe the larger story is the story of God. He’s continuing to write His story using our stories as subplots. We are characters who play roles in His story – He is the lead.
We want big stories. We all want to live great stories. No one dreams of living a small, inconsequential life. This is what I mean when I write, I believe in living life to the full.
We all do.
Story by Robert McKee
A few months ago, I met a screenwriter at a local Starbucks from the Los Angeles area. He is originally from KC, his mom and I attend church together, and she connected us.
I really enjoyed getting together with him. It was a tiny glimpse into a world you only see on TV.
During our time together, I mentioned the Storyline Conference Kia and I attended in Portland. It is led by Donald Miller, who hooked me on this idea of life as a story. Miller was confronted with this idea when attending a screenwriting seminar by Robert McKee.
McKee is famous for this particular seminar in the Hollywood and entertainment world. This lead my new friend to suggest I read McKee’s book, Story: Substance, Structure, Style and Principles of Screenwriting, a written form of this intense seminar.
I purchased it immediately, but just started reading it now that I’m ATTACKing 2015.
Back to cliche
It’s now 2015, and we have well over 100 years of films. We have hundreds of years of theater. We have thousands of years of story (written and oral). It’s hard to develop an original story.
It’s hard to be original, but every year a crop of films, television programs, plays and books succeed. They manage to get made without being cliche.
How?
It’s not the story.
No matter how you slice it, there is a limited amount of forms to tell a story. This year, someone will do the exact same story that’s been done a hundred times before. Someone will tell a love story about a boy and girl meeting, falling in love and living happily ever after, and it will feel fresh.
It is possible to write an old story in a new way that is not cliche. It’s not the story.
It’s the world.
McKee teaches to tell a story free of cliche you must have a specific setting. The more detailed the setting, the deeper and fresher the story – no matter how many times the story has been told.
Does your world feel cliche?
We all want to live BIG stories. We want to go to the grave believing our lives will affect not only ourselves but for generations to come. We want to live lives full of meaning.
If you believe the same thing, but think it’s cliche; it’s not. It’s your world. Your world is cliche, and the best way to build a better world is to shrink it.
It’s time to shrink your world. It’s time to define your setting.
Over the past 2-3 years, I’ve been doing this. It’s taken time, but I’m beginning to see fruit. My life is changing. My story is getting bigger.
More to come.
I have more to say, but I’m running out of space to say it. This week, I’ll share several examples of people with BIG stories but inside small worlds.
First, I’d love to know, what’s your dream? What does your BIG story look like? What does it mean to live life to the full?
Leave a note in the comments, post on my Facebook page or email me. I would love to hear!
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