The Stories that Make Us are the Stories that We Make

And just like Rome, a story isn’t built in a day.

There is a French word for someone who weaves words into a riveting structure that, in its final stages, becomes something you hold in your eager hands; your nose following that unmistakable mix of ink on paper, inhaling all that literary fragrance.

You even take it to bed on nights when you can’t stop turning the pages.

The word, by the way, is raconteur. A storyteller. The reason books exist.

And just like Rome, a story isn’t built in a day. You can’t just abracadabra your way to conjure a story out of thin air. It takes time. It wrings unshed tears from your eyes. In acts of defiance, it bleeds you dry—a tourniquet wouldn’t even stop it. 

But you won’t stop it, because out of all these extremes comes an epiphany, inspiring you to finally create story after story that shapes who you are.

But if the Muse refuses to come, here are some tried-and-tested tricks to help you clear the cobwebs that get in the way of your world-building:

There Are (No) Rules

The sooner you realize that you don’t need a strict set of rules to start writing—except, of course, the all-important grammar rules (read the bible: The Elements of Style by E.B. White and William Strunk, Jr.)—the better. But remember, you can’t break the rules until you’ve followed them first, so keep this idea in mind when you need a head start.

Inspiration Is Everything, Everywhere, All at Once

​​Literally everywhere. You just need to soak in the moment. Maybe it’s time for a rewatch of your favorite Studio Ghibli movie, an episode of that series you blackmailed your friends into watching, or the first paragraph of Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things. 

You could also redact words from a newspaper article to create blackout poetry. Or play Connections. Or even Wordle. Inspiration will never be in short supply.

Listen to the Saboteur With Half an Ear

You don’t need to completely shut out your tormentors and detractors. Like the protagonist who discovers her potential through the challenges posed by the antagonist, your saboteurs exist for a reason.

Use them to fuel your relevance. You can’t exert viselike control over them, but what you can control is the voice inside you that insists you can’t do it. And that is one conflict you can totally win.

But if there’s one surefire way to ease yourself into writing that story—the one you haven’t seen anywhere else because only you can write it—it’s this: write it, right now.