A story that inspires your readers can leave a lasting impression and change their perspective. Whether the story is true or fictional, it should touch on universal themes of hope, growth, overcoming adversity, and courage. It can also include specific details that resonate with your audience. These could be common struggles they face – such as being a high school grad or college student, navigating the quarter-life crisis, starting a new job, finding love, or overcoming health challenges.
The most important aspect of an inspirational story is creating a relatable protagonist. Readers want to read about real people with whom they can empathize. This can be done through making the character realistically flawed and human. In addition, you should focus on their goals and motivations to keep them engaged.
Another way to inspire your readers is by providing empathetic conflict. This means that the protagonist’s dream or ambition must be within reach, but then something unforeseen will snatch it away from them. It’s the classic underdog story, and it works because we can all relate to feeling that our dreams are out of reach.
Lastly, your inspiring story must tug at the audience’s heartstrings by delivering a shred of hope in a hopeless situation. This is how you make your audience feel like they can achieve their own goals, overcome their own obstacles, and become the heroes of their own stories.