From Edie: Zena Dell Lowe shares how our stories do matter. And helps writers discover seven qualities of meaningful fiction that inspire hope, reveal truth, and leave a lasting impact on readers.
What Makes a Story Matter? How Great Fiction Shapes Hearts, Minds, and Souls
by Zena Dell Lowe @ZenaDellLowe
I’ve spent the last month at a few different conferences talking to writers about their stories. And beneath all the discussions of mythology, character development, story structure, and arc, there’s an underlying question that creatives seem to be asking:
Does my story matter?
The fact is, not all stories are created equal. Some stories matter more than others—not because of their genre or popularity, but because of the truths they embody and the loves they cultivate.
I've said before that Christians ought not feel pressured to write stories with happy endings, as though that's the only way to positively impact culture. There is room in God's economy for tragic endings. Not all human beings are redeemed. Sometimes people need to see the consequences of sin or the devastation wrought by evil. A story that honestly captures this reality may do far more good than a feel-good story that offers false hope.
Likewise, the true measure of a story has nothing to do with how "clean" it appears to be. There's a pervasive idea among Christians that a story is "good" if it contains no sex, no violence, and no language. But a story isn't good because of what it lacks. A story is good because of what it offers. And insofar as it reflects a true and biblical view of reality, that story is good.
It follows, then, that no genre ought to be off limits. One genre isn't inherently better or more important than another. Every genre has value and serves a purpose, depending on the writer's intentions and ability to express it. I've known writers who love comedy but feel embarrassed about it, as though making people laugh somehow makes their work less meaningful. Try telling that to Charlie Chaplin, whose performances likely gave hope to countless men and women during the Great Depression.
For Chaplin, comedy was not the opposite of serious. It was the opposite of despair.
Where there is laughter, there is hope.
Still, I don't think a story matters because it's popular. Or because it has a happy ending. Or because it changes the world. I don't think it matters because it teaches a moral lesson, or because it's "clean." In fact, some of the stories that matter most leave us devastated.
Which begs the question: What does make a story matter?
1. A story matters when it helps us see reality more truthfully.
Not merely factual reality, but moral and spiritual reality. A story matters when it illuminates something true about love, sacrifice, evil, suffering, hope, courage, pride, despair, or redemption. It helps us understand what it means to be human.
2. Meaning comes from significance, not scale.
It's a Wonderful Life matters. So does Schindler's List. But so does Groundhog Day. And so does Lars and the Real Girl.
A story doesn't have to save civilization to matter.
Sometimes a story about a father learning to love his son matters more than a story about saving the universe. Because what ultimately matters are souls, relationships, virtues, and the choices we make in a dark world.
3. Stories matter when they awaken longing.
This may be the biggest thing for me. Great stories create desire. Not necessarily desire for themselves, but desire for something beyond themselves.
They make us long for:
- justice
- beauty
- home
- forgiveness
- meaning
- transcendence
Tolkien called this "joy beyond the walls of the world." Lewis spoke of Sehnsucht—that inconsolable longing for something we can never quite name.
A story matters when it reminds us that we were made for something more.
4. Stories matter when they enlarge our moral imagination.
They allow us to practice empathy. Or better yet, compassion.
They make us ask, What would I do in this situation? Could I forgive that? Would I sacrifice that much? What kind of person do I want to become?
Stories train the heart. Not through lectures, but through experience. We don't merely learn ideas. We inhabit them.
5. Stories matter when they oppose despair.
Not necessarily with optimism, but with hope. These are different.
Optimism says, “Everything will work out.” Hope says, “Even if it doesn't, it’s still worth choosing the good.”
Some stories end tragically and yet are profoundly hopeful. Think of Braveheart, A Man for All Seasons, The Passion of the Christ. Even The Lord of the Rings acknowledges loss and grief. Victory comes with scars.
Hope doesn't require a happy ending. It requires meaning.
6. Stories matter when they point beyond themselves.
This is where I think modern culture often stumbles. Many stories today terminate in the self. The goal becomes self-expression, authenticity, or personal fulfillment. But the stories that endure usually point outward and upward toward the transcendent.
Things like truth, goodness, beauty, love, sacrifice, and God (either implicitly or explicitly) remind us that life isn't ultimately about getting what we want. It's about becoming what we were created by God to be.
7. A story matters when it helps people love what is worthy of love and hate what is worthy of hate.
Not because it manipulates. Not because it preaches. But because it reveals reality in such a way that our affections become properly ordered.
Augustine said that sin is disordered love. Perhaps great stories help reorder our loves.
The question isn't whether a story is entertaining, successful, or even uplifting. The question is: What kind of love does it cultivate?
What does it teach us to admire? To desire? To worship?
Answer those questions honestly, and you’ll know if your story actually matters.
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To find out more about Zena or her current courses and projects, check out her websites at WWW.MISSIONRANCHFILMS.COM and WWW.THESTORYTELLERSMISSION.COM
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