Stress and Strain

What happens when you apply stress to something? Well, it bends or breaks, there's not much else. Unlike life, within a story the stress is carefully measured and played to provide tension and relief. By being careful, the author can crank up the stress and put the audience on the edge of their seats, without making it so awful that we want to cry and give up. Sure there are stories that intentionally make the strain so fierce we want to back away, but even those can be so enticing we want to struggle through it for the hoped-for payoff at the end--kind of like a rollercoaster.

It's probably safe to say we all know people who have cracked under tremendous stress (perhaps even ourselves). It's not pretty most of the time. Stress can break you into little pieces, grind you down, and pulverize the rest. Or, with help, you can rebuild yourself into something stronger and tougher, the way a martial artist toughens their body and will. It's a marvelous thing to witness! I applaud anyone who has come through the fire and been reborn.

Times of stress are never enjoyable. I think of the great heroes of literature, and their worst times were pretty awful. But, we all want the end result, I think. We want to be brave, heroic, able to face the toughest monsters and survive the worst storms. Without stress there would be none of that. The classic example is that we wouldn't have diamonds unless coal was squeezed so hard it changed form. Trite, but true. However you look at it, we won't get away from stress, and learning to deal with it is one of life's great trials. I wish you all the best in everything you do.

- M