Many years ago, I was working with a big-ass client who wanted to sell their product to kids via storytelling in a cartoon series. The series had started off well, and was poised to go to the next level.
I sat down and crafted a killer story that pits the protagonist against a menacing band of supervillains. The kids get beaten up and lose the support of their well-meaning family and friends.
Odds keep stacking up, and our heroes eventually emerge victorious, going through a tremendous growth arc.
The story shook the client to the core and they said, "we can't afford to show our protagonists getting beaten up."
🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
I was still in the early years of my career as a consultant, so I just handed them a super-vanilla, walking-on-the-egg-shells story they were looking for, and got out of that relationship as quickly as I could.
There's no cure for clients who insist on self-sabotage.
It reminds me of the late, great Stan Lee. He insisted on his heroes to be realistic, flawed characters people can relate to. And you'd think it's one of the basics you come to understand as you live on this planet with 7 billion other people.
But no, some people just refuse to wake up and look around.
Where would we be if our heroes never got beaten up?
There'd be no stories, no gossip, no fantasy, no movies, tv shows or even businesses on this pale blue dot of ours.
I'm amazed and I feel totally blessed that I'm surrounded by people who are immersed in life and the stories it comes with. True or imagined, it doesn't matter. Stories are what make the world go round.
And biased as I am, but I have yet to find a better collection of stories than my beloved Athena.
Whenever I pick it up, it makes me think of what the great acting teacher Ed Hooks said of Dastaan World Magazine:
"It reminds me of the modern literary equivalent of those 19th century Parisian salons, or maybe the kind of gatherings they had in Vienna in the early 1900’s."
I sometimes pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. How did I ever come across such brilliant writers and storytellers?
You should definitely feast your mind and soul on it, if you haven't already.
Here's the link:
https://www.amazon.com/Athena-Tales-Magic-Sheer-Madness/dp/B08924FK3P/
Much love,
Shakaib.