Story telling is arguably the first art form that sprung from the creative human mind. It is the root to all of our myths and legends and it contains within itself the fundamental laws of the human experience. To understand these laws makes you a good story teller and history suggests that it was the good story tellers that understood the world around them the best. In many cultures, the bard, the priest/priestess and the "Shaman" (pardon my universal application of this term) had the upper hand in society - whether it be in the power reflected in social status or power in his/her abilities to provide for the community. These figures in society had the creative prowess to deliver inspiring leadership and some of the greatest wisdoms which have transcended through time in various forms.
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| "The Scream" - by Edvard Munch |
For this reason, if true, if having a better understanding of the human experience through story telling will improve my understanding of the creative process, then I am compelled to go back to the roots of this ancient art form.
It was in stories that the story teller could teleport the human mind into a different state. Following the guided path downward, the apt story teller has the ability to safely take you through vicarious experiences of strife and seemly insurmountable challenges in stages without any harm done to you. Within we may tear up, feel scared and before we know it, the experience can feel very real. As such, it is necessary for there to develop a bond between you and the storyteller - and that is why you listen on.
It is only at the right time, after all of the various stages of facing numerous challenges, that we are dared to approach the story's climax. It is only then that a story teller has prepared you to face the final challenges that are reflected within you. We cheer for the champion - a.k.a. the locus of our identity - and whether the characters we have learned to love die or loose tragically or not, their efforts do not go in vain. Ultimately we always gain something, whether it be insight, morals, wisdom, warnings, etc.
As so too reflected in the modern world of creative productions (and not limiting to novel or screenplay writing) good stories are written every day and always beget good creative results. This is not to say that every creative process requires an elaborately woven story however, I find that to some degree, do to the inherited nature of the human experience, that all human creations will have some form of a story to it - simple or complex - conscious or subconscious - emotive or matter of factly.
I found this video to be most helpful. It is at risk of pointing out the obvious however the speaker does a very good job of formulating the fundamental concepts of storytelling in a very neat and well rounded fashion. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
The MONOSTORY:
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