When I read a book, I want to be swept away. I want to be caught up in an untold romance, an elusive mystery, a magical castle, or even someone's battle with themselves. I want to feel the heart break in that romance, or the fear and adrenaline of that elusive mystery, or be in awe at the beauty of that castle, or even cry with that person when they face their fears. I want to experience something new. So many people believe that nobody can write anything new in this day and age. I disagree.
I think that as we evolve as humans, as a society, and as a race every new thing we develop or discover can lead to a new untold story. Maybe it has the same genre or theme that we have seen time and time again, but it is not the same. It is someone else's story. It is something someone else believes in or dreams of. Without those people- those dreamers- we do not have the ability to continue imagining and inventing new things.
I think every character we meet has their own story, and we experience a new emotion with every one of them. Yes, in base form, they are the same as every other emotion we have ever felt, but when we look at the complexity and depth and reason behind those emotions, then we look at something new.nThat makes the story new. The plot is new. That character that caused you to feel those emotion is new. It is new and unique because we allow ourselves to dream. When we delve into a new book and experience those emotions and feel the movements and actions that happen during the story, I t creates something beautiful in us. It creates hope, and joy, and sadness, and pain, and anger, and excitement, and so many other emotions! They are all different versions of these emotions though. They are never one in the same because the stories are not the same.
In this we have stories that are hundreds, even thousands, of years old because they have left and made such an impact on us- they left such a permanent imprint on us. We have been left with a basis for so many things because of stories, and writing has been an outlet for so many people and their problems and dreams. After you read something that you have truly connected with, you can feel two things: you can feel this warm fuzzy feeling that is content and filling, or you can feel this yearning for more. I personally am left with a mixture. It is this sort of satisfaction that leaves me wanting more. Stories are supposed to leave you feeling something. If they don't, then you haven't found your story. Keep searching for it. Books aren't dead. They are so very alive with so many stories. You just have to find yours.
