On Stories

Every good once in a while, there is a book that I will read that will be written in such a lovely way that my heart burns with each word. There's this feeling I get sometimes when I read, and it litterally feels like my heart is melting in my chest, while pounding with such force that my breath is just taken away. Some authors just have a way with words, and eloquent speech that I can't help but hold my breath as I imagine the scene unfolding in my mind.
I'm working on writing a book called Index Card Stories and I can only hope that just one of them will make any reader feel this for just one second, because I think it is something that every writer should strive for, but very few actually achieve.

My two favorite authors who do this consistently well are Fyodor Dostoevsky and C.S. Lewis.

If you have never read anything by Fyodor Dostoevsky, I would encourage you to read The Heavenly Christmas Tree. If you don't know what I'm talking about with the heart stopping breath stealing literature, I feel like this might give you a taste of it. And if you'd like a big gulp, read The Brothers Karamazov. It is, by far, my very favorite book I've ever read. Ever.

And as for C.S. Lewis...I've read quite a bit of his writing, but the experience I remember most vividly is from The Magician's Nephew (The first in the Chronicles of Narnia). I think this is mostly because when Aslan is introduced, during the creation of Narnia, it talks about him just walking. Step by step, across the land, as it swelled up and burst out new life.
I don't know if I can explain this well, but I want you to try to close your eyes and sortof tense up your jaw, pushing your lower jaw and tongue up toward the roof of your mouth. It should make a "whoosh" sound that you can only hear in your head. Just a small swish, or if you will, like the sound of a footstep.
When I was very young (like 3 or 4 years old) I used to do this a lot, only I never realized that I was making that sound myself. And I would hide from it because I was sure that a lion was slowly walking down the hall with every swoosh sound I heart. Very rhythmic and smootly, walking closer and closer. And the more nervous I would get, the more tense I would become, and the louder the sound would be in my head. Which made me feel like the lion was coming closer with every step.
I'm not sure what made me grow out of this, or why I even thought it was a lion in the first place, but I grew out of it and lived a pretty normal childhood. No worries.
Anyway, so when I was 17 I started reading the Chronicles of Narnia, and the chapter where it introduces Aslan, and it describes him just walking--silently, closer and closer--filled me with so much peace. Mainly because I immediately made the parallel from Aslan to God. And I'd have to say that not many things can compare to the way I feel everytime I read the Creation Account of Narnia, because I can put myself there. I can hear the sounds, feal the fear and peace simultaneously and I love it.

I hope that every person has at least one book, or part of a book that will create that feeling. Because once you experience it, reading becomes an adventure. And from those adventures come our future authors.