Our Impact as Writers
I was watching a mindless police procedural TV show, of the variety where the bad guys are caught in 42 minutes. The climax was a warehouse fire and in one shot, a firefighter filled the frame. He was an extra; neither the character nor the actor had a name. He was there purely for the establishing shot before we focused on the victorious protagonists.
And yet he caught my eye. I thought back to all the other innumerable hours of TV I’ve watched in my life, and all the other extras I haven’t noticed. I wasn’t expected to, obviously; no story can give life to every character. But still, they were necessary.
We’re all the stars of our own shows, bit players in others, and merely extras in even more people’s stories, but like that firefighter, still necessary.
Which means each of us, as writers, is necessary—whether we’ve yet to publish or not. If you share your story with only one other person, you’ve made an impact—whether it’s earthshattering or barely inconsequential. Yes, we’d all love for our stories to rock the world, but ripples and waves and tremors come in all shapes and sizes and intensities.
Because as often as I’ve ignored the extras on TV, I did end up paying attention to this one individual. I don’t know the actor’s story, but I do know, for that one scene, he made a difference.
So, too, as writers, no matter or experience level or output, do we.