Alpha: It's about the Journey

 Alpha: It's about the Journey by Rebecca Seaton


                              

A journey can take us to many different places.

    I’m still enjoying helping with an Alpha course. It reminds me of the importance of the journey. It’s about the walk with God and a reminder to embrace the stages of that relationship not just an end goal of becoming a Christian or a mature Christian (let me know when you’re there!). It’s the same with testimonies. Yes, we’re excited about what we see God doing but that can’t just be about the ‘win’. We like to see success but it’s the process that intrigues us.


A journey includes milestones...


    What excites me about Alpha is change – of course when people meet with God, but it’s the steps along the way which are just as exciting: seeing people come out of their comfort zone, asking questions, being increasingly open with each other, etc.

    What does this mean for writing? I’ve already written about The Writer’s Journey (I’m not on commission, honest) and many of you saw Paul Kerensa’s brilliant take on the different organisational models for writing at the last ACW day. Suffice to say, the stages are all important. I’ll just try tackling some obvious ones here.

    Beginnings. We want to know where the main character is at. What do they lack, what obstacles do they face? We won’t care much about their triumph later if we don’t appreciate what they had to surmount.

    The Middle. How does your character deal with life when things get sticky? Why didn’t I walk away midway through my first Alpha? There’s a point when it becomes not just someone telling you about God but a challenge as to what you yourself think. We learn most about our characters when we see them challenged, whatever their response.

    End. Obviously, this should complete things. But make sure that’s in terms of character and story. Yes, the ring’s been destroyed, the bad guy discovered but are your characters also changed? Has the resilience they found in the middle become something they’ll always carry with them? Can they look back and see how far they’ve come?

                                       


... and can take anyone anywhere!

    A convincing story is a journey through different stages. When we look back on significant changes in our lives, the events where we see God’s hand at work and our own development grow are often the ones where we see not an explosion but a thread, like a shimmering silk running in and out of a tapestry. At times it appears to vanish, at others it glitters amongst the darker hues. But its glory when we see the completed work is much more for seeing how the tentative thread makes its way across the whole piece.

 

 

Rebecca Seaton mostly writes fantasy but has also been known to dabble in magazine articles and playscripts. Her second novel, A Prophet’s Grace, is currently with her beta readers.

 

 #amwriting #amwritingfantasy #ACW     





Comments

  1. I have a large tile on my kitchen table that says 'it's the journey and not the destination that really matters.' I have to constantly remind myself of this and your post sums it up beautifully. And of course this is also true for our characters. Thank you, Rebecca. X

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  2. Helpful words - thank you

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  3. I love this, Rebecca. Yes, agree that Paul's take on it was helpful, and so is this. Beginning, middle and end. Everyone talks about it but you disseminate it so clearly.

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  4. It's great advice, to make sure that characters undergo some change. It's a really good way to assess whether or not you've fleshed a character out fully during the story.

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  5. Aha - but some people never change - not deeply and fundamentally... do we have characters like this, as well? The person who returns to the tale after a gap, and we find, as the other characters do, that he is still the same old trickster? Just a thought!

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  6. Thank you. Interesting thoughts. But the destination, the testimony, the outcome - this does matter too, in fiction as in life - to me anyway.

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