Why am I here?

We spend most of our lives trying to answer that one question. There’s something in our DNA that drives us to discover why we were born and then to figure out how to fulfill it, whatever “it” is. That’s why we consume so many self-help books, isn’t it? To recover our lost identity and find resolution to our story. To give meaning to what we do with our time and talents.

We want to understand what we’re about. We want things to make sense. What we’re searching for, really, is something I call our “superstory,” the overriding story arc or theme of our life that informs and drives everything else.

You might also call it the “meta-arc.” In Roman times “‘meta’ was a structure mounted on the ends of the central spina in Roman chariot races. In many of the Romance languages, the term “meta” is basically an aim or goal. Roman Charioteers would aim their chariots for this pole-like structure during their races, in order to stay on track (from Wikipedia).” The meta-story is the aim, the structure that keeps us on track.

So, what does this have to do with writing? As you’ve probably already realized, everything, because stories are simply a mirror of the human experience. Think about the stories that move you the most. Don’t they have a superstory, a thematic thread that runs throughout and ties it together at the end? Don’t those stories have a theme that resonates? That’s what I’m talking about.

Your job as a writer is not only to create entertaining stories, but to guide people through an experience. The difference between real life and fiction is that fiction has to make sense. It’s true and it’s also the advantage (maybe unfair) we have as writers, to be able to create our own world and cause it to make sense. We get to choose the superstory.

As you work through your fiction, be aware of the superstory you are framing everything within. Be purposeful with it. Weave a theme that draws the events, characters, and settings together purposefully. There are too many books out there that just. don’t. make. sense. Don’t let yours be one of them.

What is the superstory, or meta-arc, of your fiction? How about of your life? Give it some thought.