Planting Trees: Writing Stories With Roots

Photo credit to Noah Buscher on Unsplash.

Why are some stories timeless?

Why do some tales last centuries, their covers worn and well-loved, never gathering dust on the shelves, while others are popular for a few years and then completely forgotten?

You know what stories I’m talking about. Little Women, The Chronicles of Narnia, Anne of Green Gables, and The Lord of the Rings are to name but a few. Even though they may be old-fashioned in some ways—Little Women with its 1800s culture, The Chronicles of Narnia set in World War II—everyone still loves them. Many people profess these stories as their very favourite books. It’s not only nostalgia that plays a part in this. These stories have roots.

What does it mean for a story to have roots?

It means that they have dug deep into people’s hearts, taking root there and holding fast.

But what is it that makes a story have roots? And how can we make our own stories have roots so that they will be remembered and loved?

Dig Deep

When planting a tree it is necessary that you dig deep. That way when you place the tree in the soil, it will have an opportunity to take root and grow.

For your story to have roots, it has to be deep. Take Anne of Green Gables. It’s not a riveting thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat, but any of you who have read it will probably agree that it’s deep. When Mathew passes away, you might have found yourself wiping your eyes and mourning alongside the characters.

Plant the Seed

For a tree to grow, you have to plant the seed first.

You have to plant a seed in your story, too. Whether it be the seed of the adventure, the seed of the mystery, the seed of the love, or the seed of the complicated plot, your story needs the seed of something important that the readers care about.

Tend the Soil

For a tree to thrive and keep growing, you have to tend the soil by watering and weeding.

You need to do the same for your story. Water it by developing your plot and characters. Weed by rewriting when it’s needed, and by finding and removing the weak scenes and inconsistencies.

Watch It Grow

Watch your tree grow strong as its roots deepen and push farther into the soil. You may have to prune here and make a trim there, and maybe there’s a weed that’s especially hard to pull up or that keeps re-growing, but if you keep trying, your tree—story—will grow.

So that is how you write a story that will root itself in people’s hearts.

1. Dig deep and make your story meaningful with powerful messages and memorable characters

2. Plant the seed that your readers will want to see grow to completion

3. Tend the soil by meeting your reader’s expectations throughout the story, developing it further, and re-writing and cutting things out even when it’s hard

4. Watch it grow and keep working at it, never giving up

The world needs stories with roots and it needs people who will write them.

Will you be someone who writes stories with roots?