Sangay Glass's Blog - Posts Tagged "tools"

We often think of hope as loud. As trumpets blaring in the final act, or a grand speech delivered just in time.

But in truth, hope is subtle. It's the flicker before the flame, the breath before the leap. And in fiction, it's the one element that can shift an entire narrative with a single line, a glance, or a remembered scent.

Hope is a strange creature. It doesn’t promise success. It doesn’t guarantee a happy ending. But it tells us to keep going. It says, maybe. And sometimes, maybe is enough.

As writers, we often fixate on the stakes—what's to be lost, who gets hurt, where it all goes wrong. But the inverse is equally powerful: what might still be saved.

Who might still be forgiven. What might grow in scorched ground. That slim possibility keeps characters (and readers) moving forward.

Even in the darkest stories, a single flicker of hope—a small gesture, an unexpected kindness, the feel of sun on your face after days of rain—can recalibrate everything. It gives the pain purpose. It makes the fall matter.

And when we remove hope entirely? The story stagnates. It sinks. Because without hope, there’s no reason to turn the page.

Hope isn’t flashy. It’s the softest tool in the kit. But wielded well, it hits the hardest.

Sometimes it shows up as a half-smile. Sometimes, it’s a woman like my character, Jess Taylor, wrapping herself in an old she-wolf pelt. Remembering who she is, and what she still has left to give.

If there’s one lesson I keep learning as a writer, it’s this: Never underestimate the power of hope. Even the smallest drop can change everything.

We Were Meant to Be Wolves an eco-thriller with bite and a little bit of hope is coming this summer.

The Starling bird is Salem. I found her as a hatchling. I had no hope she'd live. But she just passed this year after twenty years of bring us joy.