I heard a story in seminary of a pastor who made late night visits to a local diner when he couldn’t sleep. Prostitutes frequently visited the diner and the pastor couldn’t help overhearing some of their conversations as he sat reading. He was grieved as he gathered bits and pieces of these women’s tragic lives. [...]

Every story features an action, carried out by a protagonist, who is hindered by an antagonist, which makes for an essential conflict, the development and resolution of which constitutes the basic structure of the story. The larger the scope of the action, the more potential a story has for “greatness.” Every human life, on this [...]