On Experiencing the Plot

I was reading a short story recently and something bad happened to the main character. It wasn’t dramatic, merely inconvenient, but I kept thinking about how this whole story would be a lot easier if that didn’t happen. If they had just done this one thing to avoid it, that wouldn’t have happened! 

It felt reminiscent of watching a horror film. You know that going to the basement alone is a bad idea. And from the safety of your sofa, you shout at them to run away from the ax murderer. But that’s the whole thing isn’t it? We need the plot to move forward. We need to see conflict and resolution. We need a story. 

I’ve been thinking about how this applies to my life. Because boy do I love when my story is on track. It’s so fun to feel like things are going great and there isn’t a single bad decision in sight. And, unlike people in most horror films, I do generally, try to make good choices. 

But sometimes things happen that we have no control over. And these things have to happen for the story to progress. 

So the next time I find myself somewhere I don’t want to be, I’m going to run a quick check. Am I in control of this situation? If yes, I want to get to work on making it better. And if not, I want to acknowledge that this is moving my story along and I will try to approach it with grace and clarity.