Every Life Is a Story

I gobbled up A Million Miles in a Thousand Years like a dish of my favorite candy.  I was hooked as Miller writes about how he edits his life into a great story.  His writing is real and honest and I feel like he's in a conversation with me. 

Here's an excerpt I liked: 

"Here's the truth about telling stories with your life.  It's going to sound like a great idea, and you are going to get excited about it, and then when it comes time to do the work, you're not going to want to do it.  It's like that with writing books, and it's like that with life.  People love to have lived a great story, but few people like the work it takes to make it happen.  But joy costs pain.  

A general rule in creating great stories is that characters don't want to change.  They must be forced to change.  Nobody wakes up and starts chasing a bad guy or dismantling a bomb unless something forces them to do so.  The bad guys just robbed your house and are running off with your last roll of toilet paper, or the bomb is strapped to your favorite cat.  It's that sort of thing that gets a character moving.  The rule exists in story because it's a true thing about people.  Humans are designed to seek comfort and order, and so it they have comfort and order, they tend to plant themselves, even if their comfort isn't all that comfortable.  And even if they secretly want for something better."  

~Kate