Last night, we watched an episode of All Creatures Great and Small. I found myself rooting for Mrs. Hall and Siegfried to get together (my husband doing the same). I also realized that we are all hopeless romantics at heart. We want love to win. For good to beat evil. For love to conquer all. And for hope to triumph.
This is why I write fiction and love reading stories centered around the notion of hope. Hope is the nugget that helps carry us both in good times and in bad. God has always offered us hope through Him, and that’s the most comforting truth of all.
Yet, as I’m working on my next novel, a suggestion was made to me of how a “conflict” could be brought into the novel during the plotting stage. I shrugged my shoulders. I honestly wan’t interested in going that direction.
“I can’t do that to my characters. I’m not that kind of writer,” I said with certainty. I can say this boldly because I mean it. I’m in the optimism business—here to provide my readers with an optimistic outcome.
Moreover, I know the kind of stories I provide readers…I know the crux of the story I have been gifted to tell. The hopeless romantic in me wants everything to work out. Love will conquer all. Good will triumph. And a happy ending will be had for those who believe.
Unlike in real life where bad people can seemingly win, in my stories, good wins, love conquers all, and hope springs eternal.
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About the author:
STEPHANIE VERNI is the author of THE ONES CLOSEST TO YOU, THE LETTERS IN THE BOOKS; FROM HUMBUG TO HUMBLE: THE TRANSFORMATION OF EBENEZER SCROOGE; BENEATH THE MIMOSA TREE; INN SIGNIFICANT; LITTLE MILESTONES; THE POSTCARD; and ANNA IN TUSCANY. She is also a co-author of the textbook, EVENT PLANNING & MANAGEMENT: COMMUNICATING THEORY & PRACTICE. Currently an adjunct professor at Stevenson University Online, she instructs communication courses for undergraduate and graduate students. She and her husband reside in Severna Park, Maryland, have two children, and a little boat that makes them immensely happy.
