The Ancient Need to be Told Stories…

This afternoon a friend of mine (thanks Jen!) shared something awesome with me on Twitter. It was a screenshot of a statement Alan Rickman made for Empire Magazine in regards to his final voiceover work as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films.

It was cool to read this on a number of levels. First and foremost, my friend Jen and I met years and years ago on an old forum/website where we both wrote and shared Harry Potter fanfiction. We grew close to a small group of other writers who eventually moved on to start our own forum and website where we shared our creativity, offered feedback, critique and support to one another and shared dreams. Sadly, that website fizzled out and died over the last two years, and only a handful of the members still actually keep in touch.

That’s life, though. People come into our lives and flutter away like butterflies, often gone before we know it. Most of them linger in our memories long after they’re gone, and for the most part we know how lucky and fortunate we are to have known them.

The screenshot Jen shared with me was touching on a number of levels. It tied me back to a moment in time when my passion for storytelling was intimately shared with a group of people unlike any other I have ever known. Rickman closed out his statement with, “It is an ancient need to be told stories. But the story needs a great storyteller.”

Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling brought us all together. She inspired us, taught us more than she might ever know and drove many of us to pursue the writing life far beyond the scope of fanfiction. A few of us even went on to try our hand at publishing, and a couple even had a bit of success with it.

No matter the inspiration in your life that drives you to tell stories, I hope you hold onto the passion and continue to spin your yarns. You never know who might be listening.

Thank you, J.K. Rowling and my friends from CoC, for some of the most creative and inspiring years in my writing life.