Every writer, regardless of genre, benefits from writing and reading fiction. Fiction is the place we go to find light when everything around us seems so dark. It’s our playground where anything and everything is possible. Fiction helps us to connect with our mind’s deepest secrets and desires. It’s a gateway to higher consciousness.
This weekend I started reading The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker. I can hardly put it down and when I do, I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s one of those books that lives with you for a long time. Its bizarre tale unfolds through the eyes of Julia, a grown woman who reflects back on her youth just before and just after a fantastical event that turns the entire world on its head. It reminded me of the value of purely fictional stories and the role they play in our real lives.
Our lives are largely works of fiction – stories we make up, stories we tell to others, and stories that others tell us. The events of our lives run through a filter that colors them, changes them, gives them meaning. That filter is responsible for our individual human experience. In this way, fiction doesn’t mean “false”; it means “with perspective”. The words of fictions are some of the truest words we can ever read or write because they come so directly and purely from the heart. Maybe that’s what makes it so difficult to write; maybe that’s why it sticks with us for so long.
Published by Christa Avampato
The short of it:
Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day.
The long of it:
My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events.
While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series.
A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist.
My company:
I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media:
• I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference;
• I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable;
• I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me.
Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
View all posts by Christa Avampato
Every writer, regardless of genre, benefits from writing and reading fiction. Fiction is the place we go to find light when everything around us seems so dark. It’s our playground where anything and everything is possible. Fiction helps us to connect with our mind’s deepest secrets and desires. It’s a gateway to higher consciousness.
Christa Avampato 
Love this post! I completely agree about our lives being works of fiction. There is always that bias that cannot be helped.
Added that post to my Goodreads list. Thanks for the reco. 🙂
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Hi Racquel – so glad you enjoyed the post. The book is amazing!
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