MLE – Major Life Events
The birth of a child. The death of someone important to you. Getting married. A divorce – yours or someone close to you. Surviving a natural disaster and its aftermath. Cancer. A major, life-altering medical event.
As a writer, those are the things I think of when I think of major life events.
They are, however, not to be confused with milestones. For the vast majority of people, at least in the western world, getting a driver’s license, graduating, moving out of their parent’s house, getting a job, and so forth are all big events that happen in the normal progression of life. They are common. Expected.
Not everyone has a child. Not everyone *can* have a child. People of importance in a person’s life only die once. (Though, if they died more than that, it could be the basis of a good sci-fi story). Not everyone gets married or divorced. Given the world population, I think it’s safe to say that of the total population in the world, few people actually experience a natural disaster first-hand, though some people may experience several because they live in an area prone to have them. Cancer is the great mortality equalizer, but not everyone gets it, or experiences it through people close to them. And not everyone has a medical event that completely changes how they handle life.
Birth. Death. Marriage. Divorce. Natural Disasters. Cancer. Medical Events.
MLEs are the stuff of novel climaxes and plot twists.
I apologize for not posting last week. I had an MLE of my own. I’m fine. I’m getting back to work this week on one of my projects and I’m highly motivated to write it.
That’s a side effect of MLEs. They solidify what is important to the person who experiences them.
Go forth and write!
The birth of a child. The death of someone important to you. Getting married. A divorce – yours or someone close to you. Surviving a natural disaster and its aftermath. Cancer. A major, life-altering medical event.
As a writer, those are the things I think of when I think of major life events.
They are, however, not to be confused with milestones. For the vast majority of people, at least in the western world, getting a driver’s license, graduating, moving out of their parent’s house, getting a job, and so forth are all big events that happen in the normal progression of life. They are common. Expected.
Not everyone has a child. Not everyone *can* have a child. People of importance in a person’s life only die once. (Though, if they died more than that, it could be the basis of a good sci-fi story). Not everyone gets married or divorced. Given the world population, I think it’s safe to say that of the total population in the world, few people actually experience a natural disaster first-hand, though some people may experience several because they live in an area prone to have them. Cancer is the great mortality equalizer, but not everyone gets it, or experiences it through people close to them. And not everyone has a medical event that completely changes how they handle life.
Birth. Death. Marriage. Divorce. Natural Disasters. Cancer. Medical Events.
MLEs are the stuff of novel climaxes and plot twists.
I apologize for not posting last week. I had an MLE of my own. I’m fine. I’m getting back to work this week on one of my projects and I’m highly motivated to write it.
That’s a side effect of MLEs. They solidify what is important to the person who experiences them.
Go forth and write!