“Story is, “a thing that does,” rather than, “a thing that is.” It is a tool with measurable utility rather than an object for aesthetic admiration,”(Boyd). Stories are an essential part of today's societies and cultures. Stories have become a large part of society, because they are vast and there are so many different shapes and forms of them that there is something for everyone to enjoy. Whether someone is an author who is struggling with creating an interesting story or a reader who is interacting with the story everyone finds something that they like. There are some stories that withstand the test of time and others that drift away from people’s memories quickly, but what makes great storytelling? What does a storyteller have to do to create such magnificent stories? Why do people read stories? What effects do stories have on people? What is the business side of storytelling? These are all relevant questions to ask that pertain to the topic of storytelling; All of which lead to one thought-provoking question--How do creating, reading, and viewing stories impact people’s perception of life?
There are various elements that come together to form an in-depth story; Some of which can be as obvious as grammar, but it’s not about the simple things it’s about what’s under the surface of what creates a magnificent story that is interesting. As Andrew Stanton declared, “Storytelling is joke telling. Its knowing your punchline-your ending. Knowing that everything you’re saying from your first sentence to your last is leading to a singular goal and ideally conforming some truth that deepens our understanding of who we are as human beings. In simpler terms, a great story always has a strong running theme throughout it. Andrew Stanton go...
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...people and helping people overcome great hardships are the most impactful thing that storytelling does to people. As noted earlier, stories define who were are.
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Gardner, John. The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers. New York: A. Knopf, 1984. Print.
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Stanton, Andrew. "The Clues to a Great Story." TED-ed. TED, n.d. Web. 13 May 2014.
Vogler, Christopher. The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. 3rd Ed. Studio City: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007.
Stories are a means of passing on information, acting as a medium to transport cultural heritage and customs forward into the future. In his essay titled "You'll Never Believe What Happened," King says that, "The truth about stories is that that's all we are” (King Essay 2). Contained within this statement is a powerful truth: without stories, a society transcending the limitations of time could not exist. Cultures might appear, but they would inevitably die away without a means of preservation. Subsequent generations would be tasked with creating language, customs, and moral laws, all from scratch. In a way, stories form the core of society's existence.
The Storytelling Animal is an expository non-fiction book by Jonathan Gottschall analyzing the history of stories and human’s attraction to them. It was published in 2012 and thus contains many up-to-date references and comparisons. I believe Gottschall’s main objective in writing this book is to bring us all to the conclusion that he has reached in his research. Throughout the entirety of his book, Gottschall effectively pulls us back to main ideas he wants us to understand and accept, that we are innately storytelling animals, that are addicted to stories ourselves, have always been and will always be, by using topics that build upon one another, using relatable examples, and supporting arguments with research and studies.
1. Growing up we all heard stories. Different types of stories, some so realistic, we cling onto them farther into our lives. Stories let us see and even feel the world in different prespectives, and this is becuase of the writter or story teller. We learn, survive and entertain our selves using past experiences, which are in present shared as stories. This is why Roger Rosenblatt said, "We are a narrative species."
... In Teaching Short Fiction 9.2 (2009): 102-108. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 2 Apr. 2014.
Seger, Linda. "Introduction: Turning Fact and Fiction into Film." The Art of Adaptation: Turning Fact and Fiction into Film. New York: H. Holt and, 1992. 1-10. Print.
All stories consist of a few common structural elements found universally in myths, fairy tales, dreams, and movies. They are known collectively as The Hero’s Journey. Understanding these elements and their use in modern writing is the object of our quest. Used wisely, these ancient tools of the storytellers craft still have tremendous power to heal our people and make the world a better place (xxvii).
Storytelling’s impact on people who use it has been life saving in certain cases. By asserting the existence of different perspectives, writers get to suppress their own opinions in order to sympathize with others. (insert thing about meta-fiction) With this idea in mind, author Kate Taylor wrote the novel Serial Monogamy, a meta-fiction of a writer recalling the story of her husband’s affair and her deal with terminal breast cancer, all through her telling of Dickens’ secret life and tales of the Arabian Nights. In Serial Monogamy, storytelling makes people more understanding as they explore new perspectives.
Throughout this paper I will explore the power of storytelling using the course lexicon and I will examine it in the context of two course texts. One of the texts that I will be referring to is by Doxtator, excerpts from Fluffs and Feathers and the second text I will be referring to is by Griffin, excerpts from Woman and Nature. The power of storytelling is a part of the mimetic world and because stories have so much power they can be used to help bring about dominant fantasies. Stories are told over and over again until they are reinforced and in this essay I will argue that the power of storytelling is a form of social control.
Charters, A. (2011). The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction (8th ed.). Boston: Bedfor/St. Martin's.
We are shaped by stories because we learn through “mythistory” which is history mixed with mythological stories to help learn about our past and ourselves since the beginning of the storytelling times (125). Therefore, storytelling has been a part of human society since the beginning of time. Humans are creatures of habit and that means they will continue to tell and live through stories because that is what they know. Gottschall eloquently states this idea throughout the novel by reiterating that humans learn from the stories told by the ancestors. Furthermore, that is why we continue to tell stories because the more we can relate to the topic at the hand the more willing a person is to continue to work towards the goal or dream. Additionally, it one can relate to the topic several others can at the same time, because whether it be reading, music, or film people everywhere are watching therefore they are connecting (137). Human instinct is to connect to on other; that attribute comes from years of stories telling children about how they are only as strong as the group they are with. Our lives are shaped by stories because our lives are about being connected to one other around the world because if one is not connect then one is not important to the world they think. Therefore, as previously mentioned stories are a
Mueller expresses how stories allow children to achieve the impossible, such as flying when they are incapable and discovering the unknown. Stories give a life to the people who are unable to live, and that is one of the reasons why imagination is so essential to our world. The sharing of tales bring genuine joy to people without the need of materialistic items; it gives people the chance to relate to the author on a common ground. The sense of shared joy and mutual connection brings people closer together and expands on relationships. People begin to feel as if they are apart of an imagined community, which is a community in which people perceive themselves to be apart of, through common interests or relations from media or works of literature. Communities such as these allow people to connect with each other, despite never crossing paths. It allows the birth and the strengthening of relationships, for when people begin to converse with others, the first thing they do is find common experiences or interests that they share. In addition, a quote from Mueller, herself, adds to why we tell stories: “Because the story of our life becomes our life. Because each of us tell the same story but tell it differently, and none of us tells it the same way twice.” Tales are devised with the incorporation of the narrator’s imagination; it is a way to
A narrative is specified to amuse, to attract, and grasp a reader’s attention. The types of narratives are fictitious, real or unification or both. However, they may consist of folk tale stories, mysteries, science fiction; romances, horror stories, adventure stories, fables, myths and legends, historical narratives, ballads, slice of life, and personal experience (“Narrative,” 2008). Therefore, narrative text has five shared elements. These are setting, characters, plot, theme, and vocabulary (“Narrative and Informational Text,” 2008). Narrative literature is originally written to communicate a story. Therefore, narrative literature that is written in an excellent way will have conflicts and can discuss shared aspects of human occurrence.
and Other Greats : Lessons from the All-star Writer's Workshop. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006. Print.
In the simplest form, there is a basic structural pattern to narratives, as expressed through Tzvetan Todorov’s explanation of narrative movement between two equilibriums. A narrative begins in a stable position until something causes disequilibrium, however, by the end of the story, the equilibrium is re-established, though it is different than the beginning (O’Shaughnessy 1999: 268). Joseph Cam...