Conviction.

You know what the most important aspect of a story is, at least in my opinion? It's definitely not the plot, not the tone, not the characters, not the theme, not the setting, not the twists and not the relatability.

Hello there, I'm the guy who calls himself "the Earthian".

Do not get me wrong, each and every single aspect I just named are all very, very important indeed but without something else, none of that would matter. And that something is conviction. It's how much you believe in your own story. Because if you don't believe in it, there is absolutely no way anyone else is going to even think about believing in it. And anyone who has gotten enough conviction is someone who carries a very strong story no matter how "weak" the plot is. Think about all the stories that you love that have not the best of plots and corresponding twists that you still love. Think about why you love them. In fact, think about why you love the authors you love. Is it because of their stories that you love them or is it because of their conviction, their belief in their stories that you love them? Because it's really is to produce a story and deliver it subpar. But to take it to the next level, I believe, one must posses enough conviction to see their story take life. That's what would make it special and that's exactly why I love my list of authors and writers, because they took their characters who are just figments of their imagination and gave them life and got me convicted to them in the process.

But conviction doesn't just apply to stories, does it? More on this another day.

Lots of love, peace.