There are religious people who will argue otherwise, but I would argue that the greatest story ever told simply has not been told yet. In fact, you may be the one to write it. There is only one way we will ever find out. We need to keep writing.
Write every day. I know it has been said before, and I would say I am sorry, but I’m not. The reason this gets repeated all the time, and that I repeat it myself, is because writers don’t listen. Many tell me they don’t have to write every day. True, you don’t. But if you do, it changes your mentality and the way you work. Another little secret? Writing daily makes you better at it.
Get out of your own way. The primary thing that kept me from telling my stories for years was the fear of what other people, namely my peers from Christian school, my family, and those churchgoers might think of what I wrote. Truth be told, I was long past interacting with most of them, those who were my friends didn’t care what I wrote, and those who did weren’t really my friends anyway.
But at some point I had to banish my fear and just tell my stories in my way. Once I did, I couldn’t stop writing. The primary person standing in the way of your success is you, and the primary reason you stand there is fear. Get over yourself, banish the fear, and tell your story. If someone doesn’t like it, get them out of your life. Don’t let anyone hold you back from writing the greatest story ever.
Seek excellence, and banish perfectionism. Realize that no draft will ever be perfect, and someone will always find errors in your work. Get it to the point of excellence. Make it as good as you can with the time and money you have right now, and then let it go. Move on to the next book, and do the exact same thing. Your work will never be perfect, but you will constantly improve. Each new work will be better than the last.
The greatest story ever told may be yours. Or it may already be told. Or even better, every person might have a different idea of what that story looks like, and yours may be the greatest they have ever read. Our words shape our world, and they make a difference to someone. So share what you have to say. At least, then we can still hope to someday read the greatest story ever told.
Troy is an editor, book coach, author of over 32 novels and several works of non-fiction, and the education lead for Plottr. He lives, works, and plays in Boise, Idaho.
Passionate about writing dark psychological thrillers, he is an avid cyclist, skier, hiker, all-around outdoorsman, and a terrible beginning golfer.
