Remember when you were a kid and you had to endure the childhood nightmare of “picking teams” on the school playground? You knew that if you were picked even in the top five for a kickball game, it was a total act of charity.
But what if the story, any similar story, took a different turn? That’s what makes a story compelling, right?
If I was part of a P.E. class relay race on the school track, the coach would put his stopwatch down for me and start announcing the days of the week, so it goes without saying, I wasn’t a first-round draft pick. But what if the story, or any similar story, took a different turn? That’s what makes a story compelling, right?
I imagine jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi likely felt that way at first…if he knew at all, that he wasn’t the producers’ first choice as the music composer for all those Charlie Brown TV specials. Those were shows that became classic television jewels for the holidays. It’s real-life scenarios like this that are great writing seeds…providing ideas for story turns as you take your protagonist or antagonist through their novel journey.
Below is a brief 5-minute clip of an interview with Lee Mendelson, producer of all those Peanuts specials. He describes reveals who he called first, how it went down, and gives us a sense of Vince’s enthusiasm…he knew he was on to something exciting.
Many times God places the extraordinary in overlooked and commonplace locations or people. He does it today all the time. Feeling like opportunity’s gaze has passed over you? There’s a large membership in that club, believe me. But, it may just be that He’s preparing you, or others, in a specific way, to set up the right situation. After all, He knows you better than you know yourself.
The Christmas season is about the inexpressible greatness arriving through totally ordinary and overlooked places. While none of us can compare our plight to the arrival of the Christ in his unassuming way, and especially how his life on earth finished, we can take courage that the greatest storyteller of all time is writing your story too…with all its twists and turns. Now that’s a true page-turner that’s worth sticking with.
My Storm Farm 