Remember my ten points of a healthy book? Do you find yourself wishing that more stories followed those points? If so, then you have already realized there is a cost to not reading healthy stories.
The following state describes those who do not care for good storytelling:
1. Their minds are constantly plagued by stories they find exhausting
2. Living in these stories harms their family relationships
3. They find themselves lonely in these stories
4. The world was a place they remember being nice when they were children, but now, they strangely do not find it so
Unhealthy reading will always result in unhealthy life. More than half the books at your local library deserve to feed a bonfire. Don’t get me wrong! There are plenty of great stories in your library. There are just so many other stories that aren’t good, and their poor storytelling is drowning out the voice of those stories that are good.
The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way. I’ve found a secret to writing books that give the reader imagination, inspiration, and a foundation for wholesome living. Here’s the story: Living in the modern world, I found it difficult to avoid all the draining stories circulating around every possible media venue. Yet, I knew it wasn’t always that way. I started reading some books that were slightly older – books that had stood the test of time – books that are so loved that we call them “classics”. I especially studied classic children stories, which are worth more than many lengthy adult novels. All the best stories that gave me the most imagination and inspiration in this life had one thing in common: They were all wholesome and centered on plotlines that could be believable (pretty much). That’s right. The stories were so imaginative that their plotlines didn’t have to focus on a crutch like brokenness, the turmoil of despair, or even the adrenaline pumping method of space explosions or one long series of fast action scenes. Instead, the stories focused around things that are common in life. The end result was characters you could relate with and trust, relationships that relied upon one another, places you could imagine and try to recreate, and a refreshing night’s sleep where you dream of how you can improve this world to be more like the story you read.
I read these stories . . . and then I wrote them. My stories have begun with The Williams House and Treasure on the Southern Moor, and they are only growing!
If you agree with my ideals, then you will love my authored books The Williams House and Treasure on the Southern Moor – both fictional novels that put to practice these principles. I don’t just theorize! Purchase these books today at Amazon.
Your fellow writer,
Joshua Reynolds
