• Wheatley
    2.3k
    I'm one of those few people who find it really difficult to tell a story about themselves. I don't usually remember things in an orderly fashion that could flow into a story. I'm feeling sad that I'm missing one of the essential things that makes us human, storytelling. I'm also a very philosophical person, so naturally I want to explore the topic of storytelling in a philosophical way.

    Stories are everywhere, people from all over the world tell stories. Religion is based on stories. Many forms of entertainment tell a story, books, movies, plays etc.. It's natural that storytelling is ubiquitous because it is normal part of life. I'm wondering what exactly about stories that captivate us all? What is the story about stories (pun intended)?

    In my opinion, stories are a natural way of communicating a set of real or imaginary events in a meaningful and a logical fashion so that a person can remember and retell it. A person telling a story usually strives to say something interesting and memorable. All things being equal, a set of information told in a story will usually have a bigger impression on us than not.

    I remember trying to help two kids memorize a deck of cards and I succeeded. How did I do it? I told a story using each card so that every card was part of the story. I think life can be seen like a deck of cards in that life can be disorganized. Our brain sometimes needs to impose order on the world by inventing a story. So just like the kids were able to remember the deck of cards by me turning it into a story, we remember life by turning it into a story.

    Thoughts?
  • Kaz
    15
    Personally, I enjoy the changeability of the stories. If I were to tell "my story" a couple of times over a period of time, the story would be different each time. Much like Hitchhiker's Guide to Galaxy doesn't shy away from containing factually wrong or at least wildly inaccurate information, stories don't care for any pursuit of truth. They are free to contain any absurdities.

    I'm wondering what exactly about stories that captivate us all? What is the story about stories (pun intended)?Purple Pond

    There's something about both the process and the conclusion of the story that makes it interesting.
  • whollyrolling
    551
    As much as we tend to ascribe "genius" to those among us we deem as excellent storytellers, it's precisely this that makes a good story: that a number of people latch onto it. I'm presently reading a book about this, though I'm not far enough into it to bring it to the table. There is a formula for storytelling, and it works again and again, but it's always the response of the readership that makes it what it is, and any "genius" is really either an accident or an innate talent for manipulating others.

    Storytelling, much like music, much like painting, is a tool for drawing out emotions, good or bad. It's more often purely about feeling than thinking, and even when it's about thinking, it plays on feelings.

    We are, for whatever reason, deeply dissatisfied in our lives without heroes and monsters, without comedy and tragedy, without mysteries to solve or enemies to vanquish, princesses (or princes for the PC police) to save, and we seek these either in fables or in reality. Where it doesn't exist we create it. A "good story", as far as I can tell, is one that accomplishes any combination of these constituents while simultaneously generating a sense in its reader or listener that they're participating in some way.
  • Hanover
    12k
    I enjoyed that story about your life.
  • Pattern-chaser
    1.8k
    I'm not especially good at telling stories. But I do know that humans learn (and retain) best of all from stories. I suppose that's why we like the story form so much.
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