Change in Reading and Writing
I am often surprised and unnerved by how quickly life–and futures–change. This is, I believe, a product of my age.
It was easy for me as a child, to believe that all that is will always be. I have somehow retained this delusion throughout college. Futures change, thoughts change, people change–even memories change.
As a reader, I disbelieved that life could change so dramatically so quickly. Using my favorite book example: How could Harry, Ron, and Hermione drop out of Hogwarts? Just like that? It changed the entire dynamic of the series!
Readers are uncomfortable with change. I have found myself saying the words: ”I don’t like this book because it isn’t like the rest of the books in the series.” Or: ”I don’t like this book because the ending changes everything!”
As a writer, I dread writing change. Kill a character? Change the location? Build the plot? No way! Too scary. Better stick with what I know, what I already love.
But change is inevitable. It may be uncomfortable, but it’s unavoidable. Avoiding change in writing and reading–as in life–is encouraging a depthless fantasy. Facing change is courage.
Change is what separates the ordinary from the unique. It’s what begins an adventure–and ends one too. It’s why science fiction writers dream of year 3010. It’s heartbreak and new beginnings in a romance novel. It’s what lets us believe in characters. It’s what keeps us uncertain and hopeful as we frantically turn the pages of a good book at midnight. It’s what keeps writers writing, while we naively tell ourselves that we know the plot and characters by heart when we begin.
Change is ever-present–and plots, characters, environments, relationships, and real people are lifeless without it. Because change is inevitable in life, it is inevitable in a believable fictional world.
