The Right Story for the Moment

 I grew up on”classic” stories. Dickens and Poe and Wharton and Tolstoy all grappled with human nature and our conflicts. In different ways, for sure, but novels and epic poems and short stories and theater seem, to me, to be timeless when they are done well.

But in the past few years it has come into vogue for editors, agents, producers, and managers, during a pitch, to ask two questions:

Why you?

Why now?

The former question is clearly valuable. Answering it demonstrates passion, reasoning, experience, and credentials.

Why now? is trickier. Especially if you aspire to creating timeless stories, not newspaper articles or blog posts. Still, the question is unavoidable if you want to get past the gate keepers. I have some suggested areas to explore that might be more interesting than ”It’s ripped from the headlines.”

The story exposes an unrecognized need. We are so enmeshed in our own culture, that often what’s needed to make for a better society is hidden. Sometimes voices are not being heard. Perspectives might be unexpected. Conventional wisdom and all the stories may be covering up the real truth. Or scientific understandings might be new, altered, or need popularization.

Technology, power shifts, or new interactions between cultures might open up new opportunities. Microphones made more expressive songs possible because singers could be more intimate. Wealth and education opened up “legitimate” theater and Hollywood to the Irish. The blues and bluegrass found expression in rock and roll. (These could take the form of new capabilities or changes in value. Knowledge can hybridize to create novel pursuits or explorations.)

A story can become timely because the situation has become urgent. Spy stories and television shows like Mission Impossible became a way to understand the Cold War. Some stories prompted needed discussion. Others offered options for exploration. Or helped people get a sense of risks and benefits. Often stories made important by urgency can expand decision-making and add perspectives and do so agains tight deadlines.

Or something may become visible on the horizon. Emerging trends or indications that something significant is coming together in an unexpected way and might deserve the attention of a larger audience. Poets are supposed to be the antennae of the race. ”If this goes on…” has long been a sub genre of science fiction. Population control, automation, the arms race, and many other threats or coming changes were worked out in this context.

On occasion, “why you” and “why now” merge. Someone whose voice is distinct and necessary may retell a traditional story in a way that catches the moment.

And, yes, topical stories are welcome. But I’m suspicious writing to what is blossoming in social media. First, saying something fresh becomes difficult when everyone is talking about the subject. Second, there is a temptation to propagandize and support specific solutions. (I call this tractor theater, comrade.) Third, there is the danger of the work being too shallow. For many issues, especially those that are wrenching for society, ideas need to ferment — often for years. The less disposable answers — the deeper answers — come with time.

Not all of these need to be approached head-on. During the McCarthy era, social stories that would have been banned in the mainstream found their ways into science fiction (as happened with many episodes of The Twilight Zone). Or hidden in historical fiction (like High Noon and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible).

Of course, you don't have to choose just one of the approaches is above. In combination, they may be powerful. That can impress the gate keeper, but more importantly, it can provide guidance in creating a work of lasting value.