People Are
Stories-in-Progress
As a head’s up, this online version of People Are Stories-in-Progress is more than 44,000 words long. That’s as long as some novels.
There are some typos and errors in these web pages, which I’ve corrected in the eBook. I will eventually correct those errors here in the online version as well, but since there’s other stuff I’m excited to make, I’m not rushing that process. My goal is to complete this online update by September 2023. This banner will disappear when this page has been revised.
(Please note: I didn’t make any major changes in the updated eBook—I only refined the wording slightly, so you’re still getting a very similar experience between the two versions.)
A Little More About This Foundational Lens
Sometimes, you see in a certain pattern so strongly that you believe it exists everywhere, overlaid on top of all you experience. This belief is so close to you that it comes as a shock when you discover that others don’t believe the same as you do. As I mentioned earlier, I call this “a foundational lens.”
Foundational lens: (noun) a pattern of understanding so deeply ingrained in your mind that it flavors everything you see. See more in the Shelbish Glossary.
Having a foundational lens is not entirely voluntarily, so even when you’re aware of it, you can’t shake it off. It’s easier for you to see the foundational lenses in others than it is for you to remove a foundational lens from within yourself.
Here in this Season, I’m openly sharing one of mine. It’s integral to the way I develop both plot and character, which means it impacts everything I write.
It’s also the title of this Season, so it’s hard to miss:
People Are Stories-in-Progress.
In other words, I believe everybody has a story.
Each person in your life—your friend, your sibling, your parent, even the stranger you pass on the street—is in the middle of their own personal character arc, one that lasts their whole life. Before the individual reached this present moment, certain events shaped that person, and that person’s present—their actions, decisions, and experiences—defines the path into their future.
Because this lens is so embedded in my mind, I apply this pattern to every interaction I have.
Whenever I first meet someone who starts telling me about their life, I am looking for their character arc. When a friend tells me about what they are going through, I’m already reviewing the previous chapters of their life and looking for ways this current chapter fits in with what I already know. I’ll tell you a story about this later in the Season, when we dive into story structure, but for now, I just invite you to look for this foundational lens, which exists in everything I share, including this Season.
That way, you can decide whether or not you agree.
Because what I tell you is only the way that I see the world.
It’s not the only way to see the world.
Other writers and creators may be quite different. That includes you.
Even though this lens works for me, and I believe it can help others, I invite you to practice discernment, which is the first tool in your creative toolbox.
We’ll cover this in the next section.