The Science of Storytelling

Home > Other > The Science of Storytelling > Page 23
The Science of Storytelling Page 23

by Will Storr


  Steinbeck, John, The Grapes of Wrath, 140

  stories: Abrams’ ‘mystery boxes’, 20; analysis using ‘big data’, 187–9, 191–2; ancient roots of, 136–8; archetypal storytelling, 90, 128, 141, 144–5, 154, 182, 191–2, 194, 196–8; basic shapes, 5, 6, 186, 228; brain as ‘story processor’, 3–4, 48–51; crisis-struggle-resolution, 81–2, 182, 183, 188–90; David and Goliath, 98–100; as distraction from the void, 1–2; dramatic turning points, 13–14; Eastern fiction, 82–3, 129; endings, 192–3, 194–8, 228–9, 230–1; explanatory, 50–1; first sentences, 14–17; good dialogue as ‘two monologues clashing, 86; as hallucinated models, 3, 27–8, 29–32, 37, 64–8, 77, 198–9; hidden symmetry in, 187, 189; information gaps, 19–20, 55, 102, 171, 190; Kishõtenketsu (Japanese form), 83, 129; modernist, 129–30, 139–40, 231; moments of unexpected change, 11–12, 13–17, 55, 83, 179, 185, 189, 214, 215, 224–5; openings of, 11, 14–17, 55–6; perceptions of tribal ‘others’, 153, 200–2; significance of change in, 11–12, 13–17, 53–5, 63, 68, 83, 189–92, 224–5, 230; simulacrum of human consciousness, 198–9; state of ‘transportation’, 198–9; and status play, 144–52, 153–4, 155–7, 160–2; ‘the God moment’, 197–8, 230–1; time as compressed time, 132–5; tribal master-stories, 152–8, 159–62; truth as consolation of, 202–3; and two levels of consciousness, 119–30; use of salient detail, 39–40; see also plot structures; sacred flaw approach; writing

  Storr, Will: The Heretics, 3–4; science-based course for writers, 4

  story theorists, 4, 5, 13, 131, 139, 144, 163; importance of, 6–7, 228; preoccupation with structure, 5, 186, 228; pursuit of the perfect plot, 186

  Stowe, Harriet Beecher, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, 199

  Stretcher, Professor Victor, 81

  Süskind, Patrick, Perfume, 30–1

  Tartt, Donna, The Secret History, 15, 18

  Tavris, Professor Carol, 93–4

  television, 5, 20, 53, 120–1, 134–5, 166–7

  The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (film, 1974), 162

  theatre, 19–20, 135, 148–51, 179

  Tolkien, J.R.R., The Hobbit, 31–2

  Tolstoy, Leo: Anna Karenina, 11, 16–17; on works of art, 27

  Transparent (TV drama), 120–2

  ‘transportation’, state of, 198–9

  trees, solitary, 119–20

  tribes, 136–42, 154–5; hunter-gatherer, 2–3, 36, 136–8, 143, 154–6; master-stories, 152–8, 159–62; perceptions of tribal ‘others’, 153, 159–62, 200–2; stories as tribal propaganda, 155–7, 159–62, 201; tribal conflict, 158, 159–62; tribal emotions, 2, 136–42, 200–2, 224

  Trier, Lars von, 140–1, 194

  The Truman Show (film, 1998), 65

  video games, 182–3

  Voldemort, Lord (Harry Potter character), 162

  Waal, Professor Frans de, 144, 159

  Walker, Alice, ‘Burial’, 42–3

  Welles, Orson, 56

  Wexler, Professor Bruce, 85, 87

  White, E.B., Charlotte’s Web, 14

  Wilson, Michael, 123

  Wilson, Professor Timothy, 50, 193

  Woolf, Virginia, Mrs Dalloway, 129–30, 139–40

  Woolf, Virginia, ‘Street Haunting’, 44

  writing: books by people like us, 200; embracing the rewind, 209–10; evocation of the senses, 30–1; ‘show not tell’, 29–30, 55; simulacrum of consciousness, 198–9; traditional ‘how-to’ guides, 4, 6–7; use of specific detail, 29–30, 31–2, 172–3, 210, 211–13, 214–17; word order and grammatical style, 28–30; see also plot structures; sacred flaw approach; stories

  Yates, Richard, Revolutionary Road, 38–9, 40

  Yorke, John, 13; Into the Woods, 187, 228

  About the Author

  Will Storr is an award-winning writer. His work has appeared in the Guardian, Sunday Times, New Yorker and New York Times. He is the author of four critically acclaimed books, most recently Selfie: How the West Became Self-Obsessed. He teaches popular journalism and storytelling classes in London. He is an in-demand ghostwriter whose books have spent months at the top of the Sunday Times bestseller chart, selling more than 300,000 copies in 2018 alone.

  Also by Will Storr

  FICTION

  The Hunger and the Howling of Killian Lone

  NON FICTION

  Will Storr Vs. The Supernatural

  The Heretics: Adventures with the Enemies of Science

  Selfie: How the West Became Self-Obsessed

  COURSES

  The Science of Storytelling

  The Science of Storytelling for Business

  How to Tell a Story

  For more information about courses, please visit

  www.scienceofstorytelling.co.uk

  About the Publisher

  Australia

  HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.

  Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street

  Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia

  http://www.harpercollins.com.au

  Canada

  HarperCollins Canada

  Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower

  22 Adelaide Street West, 41st Floor

  Toronto, ON, M5H 4E3, Canada

  http://www.harpercollins.ca

  India

  HarperCollins India

  A 75, Sector 57

  Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201 301, India

  http://www.harpercollins.co.in

  New Zealand

  HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand) Limited

  P.O. Box 1

  Auckland, New Zealand

  http://www.harpercollins.co.nz

  United Kingdom

  HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

  1 London Bridge Street

  London, SE1 9GF

  http://www.harpercollins.co.uk

  United States

  HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

  195 Broadway

  New York, NY 10007

  http://www.harpercollins.com

 

 

 


‹ Prev