by Michelle Sass Aleckson, @Jesses_girl4evr
My love of story started very young. I remember laying on my tummy in the living room learning to read one of those small Golden Books. As a child I was fascinated to see letters come together to form words, and words became sentences. And the sentences came together to form thoughts which made a story.
And now I’m the one putting thoughts and words on the page.
Although, with so much turmoil these days, perhaps you’re questioning this whole writing gig. After all, we invest a lot of time, energy, and money. Is it worth it? When there’s so many other things we should be doing? What will my story contribute?
Some might not see my romances as a worth endeavor. That’s okay. They are probably not my target audience anyway! And not to downplay these very real issues of today but I think it’s important to remember: the world has always been broken. There has always been turmoil.
And the world will always need hope.
I will not fix racism, pandemics, divisive politics, police brutality, domestic abuse, or a myriad of other manifestations of sin with my story. But through my story I can offer hope. I can show love. I can remind readers that good still exists. Good can triumph over evil. Love is still powerful.
I can remind them of the possibilities.
Maybe you do have insight, your own experiences to address some of these issues in your stories. Please do. Even though we can’t fix those problems on our own, we don’t ignore them either. And sometimes it’s a well-written story where characters encounter these issues that touches the heart of the reader, helps open the mind to a different way of seeing things, shines a light in a dark place.
Dear Writer, keep writing stories. If it is what you were called to do, there is no worthier task.
Because you never know how your words will touch someone. And maybe that touch will spark a change of thought, and maybe those thoughts will come together to move toward actions. And those actions might just change the world.
After growing up on both the east and west coasts and traveling the world, Michelle Sass Aleckson now enjoys living the country life in central Minnesota with her husband and four children. She loves rocking out to 80’s tunes on a Saturday night and playing board games with family and friends. She’s a graduate of Novel Academy’s Storycrafter course, and she won the 2018 Genesis Award for Romantic Suspense and the 2018 Cascade Award for Contemporary Fiction. Look for her debut novel with Sunrise Publishing in 2021. And in the meantime, you can connect with her at michellealeckson.com!