The Story Behind The Story

Sometimes I read somebody's writing and all I can say is "Interesting." As I've said previously, that usually means that I want more. Usually, I want to know the story behind the story.

What made you write this? How much is based on real life? How much is based on your life? What concepts are you trying to portray? What was the germinal idea?

I think these questions can be much more interesting than the writing itself. They cut through the veil of the writing and get straight to the heart of the matter: the ideas.

The nice thing about the story behind the story is that it grounds and prepares me for the story. It fills in the blanks and points out the important scenes, objects, and relationships. It allows me to appreciate the story the way the author intended it to be.

And of course, there are people who want none of that. Some people believe that a story belongs to the people and the author is but one person who has one interpretation of it. To hear what the author thinks their story is about is to taint your perception of it.

I can take either side of the issue because they both have some truth to it. The author does have a unique quality in that he or she actually wrote the piece and knows exactly what the author intended. Of course, that is not to say that there aren't larger possibilities that the author didn't even realize was in the writing.

Regardless of what you choose to do as a reader, you should realize as an author that every story you write has a story behind it. You might do well to write down that story first. Those questions at the top of this post are a good starting point. They will make you aware of your intentions and, as you progress on your writing, they will remind you why you are writing it in the first place.