In my master’s program in English and creative writing, I took a class called “Studying the Craft.” The coursework explored how elements of dramatic narrative create tension and reveal a character’s inner conflicts. By learning the mechanics of plot and character development, I discovered parallels to our earthly journeys.
Here are five storytelling insights that can help us understand life.
1. Themes Shape Our Perspectives
We can interpret our life stories by reflecting on how external experiences reshape our internal perspectives. Tracing the connections between our challenges and growth helps us find purpose in our suffering, transform limiting beliefs, deepen spiritual understanding, and strengthen our connection to our Creator.
In Les Misérables, Victor Hugo’s main character, Jean Valjean, is a convict embittered by years of unjust imprisonment. His foil, Inspector Javert, relentlessly pursues Valjean, driven by a strict sense of justice. In contrast, a saintly bishop, representing the story’s moral archetype, forgives Valjean for stealing silver candlesticks and offers him mercy. This act helps Valjean feel God’s love and serves as his catalyst for transformation. Applying the themes of mercy and justice to his story deepens Valjean’s understanding of Christ’s atonement and grace.
Similarly, we can recognize eternal truths by looking beneath the surface to find the themes in our lives. Our trials often contain lessons for spiritual growth. People who enter our lives may serve as instruments of divine instruction. Even ordinary experiences can reveal extraordinary spiritual teachings when approached with faithful contemplation and an open heart.
2. Everyone Has a Growth Arc
Like our favorite literary characters, our motivations drive our actions and shape our personalities. We can’t fairly judge a person unless we read their complete story.
Take, for instance, Jane Austen’s Emma. If we, by chance, turn to the page where Emma advises Harriet to refuse Robert Martin’s marriage proposal, we might dismiss Emma as snobbish, pushy, and selfish. And while there’s truth to this view, we don’t understand the whole picture. Emma is also bright, witty, a devoted daughter, imaginative (sometimes overly so), a doting aunt, and a philanthropist, though her privileged upbringing makes her naive to the world’s complexities beyond her small social circle.
When we understand her character within the context of Regency England, with its emphasis on advantageous marriages, we can judge her actions with more empathy. Through her struggles, Emma recognizes flaws in her thinking and evolves. She becomes the woman Jane Austen intended her to be—humble, open to wise counsel, and striving to improve.
This literary growth mirrors our own lives. We are here to learn from experience, but it’s up to us to change. Austen didn’t want a static heroine. Likewise, God wants us to learn, grow, change, and expand our perspectives continually.
Sometimes we get so caught up in our character development that we forget others are in the middle of their own arcs. Recognizing this truth reminds us not to condemn people for their actions. Emma wounded many people on her journey to become a better person. Similarly, we will hurt others on our paths to become more Christlike. We hope for their forgiveness, just as we extend grace and love to those who might harm us along the way.
3. Conflict Makes Our Stories Interesting
A story where nothing bad happens to the main character would have no purpose. As we read in the scriptures, all things must have opposition (see 2 Nephi 2:11). Without darkness, we can’t appreciate light; without defeats, we can’t understand triumphs. Suffering gives our existence meaning. This knowledge doesn’t make the hard times easy. However, we can endure them well, learn from them, and view them as essential parts of our journey. Often, the most challenging chapters lead to the most significant change.
Consider the choice faced by Hercules as he stood at a crossroads. In the story, a goddess representing Vice entices him with comfort and pleasure while a goddess representing Virtue offers him a life of challenge and struggle. Hercules chooses the second path because he knows he is destined for greatness.
Instead of blaming God, we might ask who we will become by conquering our trials. We can trust that the divine Author knows our story’s details intimately. He understands our motivations, the purpose behind our afflictions, and the lessons we will learn through each plot twist. Then, after the crisis has passed, we can look around for others we can serve.
4. All Is Never Lost
There comes a time in every story—and in life—when it seems like giving up is the only option. The protagonist alienates their friends, makes countless mistakes, and fails in some significant way. But these challenging moments aren’t meant to be avoided—they’re meant to be experienced. The beautiful truth of narratives and life is that things always get better.
For example, when Jane Eyre leaves Mr. Rochester and Thornfield Hall, she is alone, penniless, and on the brink of starvation. The reader fears there is no hope for her. She might have remained safe if she had stayed to marry Mr. Rochester despite his attic-bound wife, but she would have sacrificed her sense of self, her independence, and her moral integrity.
These challenging moments are catalysts. They force characters—and people—to find reserves of strength they didn’t know they possessed. Jane’s hardship was not a punishment, but a means to discover her true character, establish her moral compass, and ultimately return to Mr. Rochester as his equal.
We will all face similar moments when hope seems distant and the path is unclear. But we can always turn the page. President Nelson’s repeated counsel to “Let God Prevail,” “Hear Him,” and “Think Celestial” reminds us that we’re part of a larger narrative. Each day is a fresh chapter waiting to be written. When darkness approaches, we can turn to our divine Creator for mercy, comfort, and peace because He knows the next plot beat and is carefully guiding us back to Him.
5. Find Symbolism in Experiences
Symbols convey meanings that extend beyond their literal representations, helping readers connect with the story on a deeper level. They convey truths, help us remember essential concepts, and enrich our spiritual insight. By recognizing and interpreting the symbols in our lives, we will gain a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world.
In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne suffers the injustices of Puritan society. For the sin of committing adultery, religious authorities force her to wear a scarlet letter A as a public symbol of shame. Hester adopts this symbol by elaborately embroidering the A onto her clothing and dressing her child in red even after the law no longer requires her to do so. She reclaims her identity by transforming the emblem of shame into one of goodness and strength.
By carefully examining our experiences, we reveal the meanings of symbols in our own lives. Often, symbols can only be understood retrospectively as we revisit our lives, pray, and ponder God’s messages to us. He promises that if we approach Him with humility and faith, He will strengthen our weaknesses. Like Hester Prynne, we are imperfect beings marked by sin, but no symbol of shame is beyond redemption. We can grow stronger and overcome our challenges by acknowledging the lessons we’ve learned.
The art of storytelling echoes the truths of human existence. Elements that shape our favorite stories are the same forces that form our lives. The gospel of Jesus Christ assures us that no conflict is insurmountable and no failure is final. We are not static characters, but protagonists in an eternal work. Every day, we write and rewrite our stories with courage, humility, and trust in the divine Author, who sees the whole arc of our potential.
Kami Pehrson