According to the dictionary, “epic” can be an imaginative work of any form, impressive in scope, narrating the adventures or deeds of heroic or legendary figures. Sounds dramatic, and a little intimidating. So how does a writer – who is, perhaps, just a small town woman with seemingly no heroic or legendary adventures of her own to write about – achieve an “epic”?
Through imagination and creativity, said writer, and others of differing situations but equally “un-legendary” statuses, can write in an epic manner.
And by epic, I don’t mean that every hero must be a ridiculously handsome and suave, swashbuckling knight. Of course, if that’s your idea of epic and this hero has a great story, all the power to you. All I mean is that we writers of less-than-epic lives can write stories that have a level of epic-ness, if I may create a word, proportional to the kind of story it is.
Epic stories are not epic based on plot or character alone, but on a narrative style that grabs the reader’s attention and doesn’t let it go until the last page is read. And leaves the reader both satisfied and wanting more. Having a great idea for a story is one thing, the first step toward writing a great story. But quality writing and good story-telling go hand-in-hand, and sometimes that is where new, and even not-so-new writers trip.
But consider this piece of advice: don’t give up. Your story can be epic; it will be epic. So keep on trucking, aspiring writer!