THOUGHTS: The Identity of a Story

Sometimes the hardest part about writing a novel is finding the identity of a story. It’s like those times in life when you pause and step away from everything that’s happening around you and you wonder what you’re doing, where you’re going, why the people in your life are even there in the first place. You can create characters and you can invent clever words, but in the end, that backbone of your story is your identity, and without the identity … you have no soul.
The story I’ve been writing feels like it has no identity. I realized I need to finish the first draft and then seriously consider not only what I want to portray in this book but why in the first place I started writing it. Yes, it was an idea and it was an obsession of mine for a while, but what has kept me motivated toward that particular theme?
Every story is written by someone struggling with their own identity. Their work reflects their thoughts and their heart’s words. I wonder often whether or not I am so transparent in my writing that others can see my identity through my stories clearer than even I can. While I am searching for who I am in a world that doesn’t exist, I’m opening a window to my soul and I don’t even realize it.
It’s a curious thing when you think about it, but I just know that when I find the identity of my characters and their world and their conflict and their resolution, my story will come to life. And I can’t wait to uncover it.

- Isabella