We humans love stories.
We love to hear them. We love to tell them. We love to pass a good story on to others.
Stories are how we learn. Stories are how we teach our children. Stories are the collective memory of our tribe, handed down from generation to generation. They’re how we preserve and share our clan’s lore, of our gods and our heroes, our ancestors and our enemies, our loves, our laughs, our triumphs, and our tragedies. Stories are how we try to puzzle out the nature and meaning of the world in which we live, and then try to share our understanding with others.
Children love to be told stories. When they get old enough, they can’t wait to learn to read by themselves, so that they can revisit their favorite stories over and over and over again without having to pester their parents.
[Then they go to school and get strapped into literature appreciation chairs, and by the time they graduate most have had that love beaten completely out of them. But that’s a topic for another time.]
It’s in our nature. We humans are wired by evolution to want to hear and tell stories. Being able to do so was probably a valuable survival skill in the last ice age. Thus the fundamental principles of story-telling were laid down in the Neolithic age, if not earlier, and they require that, at an absolute minimum, a story must have:
» A reason for being told.
» A beginning, which engages the listeners’ attention and lets them know a story is being told.
» A middle, in which the core ideas or events of the story are developed and unfold.
» An ending, which makes it clear to the listeners that the story is finished, and the purpose for which the story was being told has been fulfilled.
[Forgive me if this all seems obvious, but based on what shows up in our slush pile whenever we’re open to unsolicited submissions, it’s not.]
Therefore, for the moment, I want you to forget about being a “writer.” Writing and literacy are recent inventions. You are heir to a tradition that goes back to long before writing was invented—to before rhythm and rhyme were invented, to make it easier to remember stories—
[Rhythm and rhyme are great mnemonic devices. Once you hear a rhyme in rhythm, it’s difficult to forget it. For example, I bet your memory will immediately fill in the last line of this limerick:
“There once was a young girl named Bright.
Whose speed was far faster than light.
She left home one day,
in a relative way,
and returned…” ]
You are heir to a tradition that perhaps goes back even to before your forebears thought to carve petroglyphs of aurochs in the cliff face, to help them tell the story of the Greatest Hunt Ever. And right now I want you to imagine yourself as your tribe’s lore-teller, smeared with bear fat and red ochre and standing before your clan, as they’re gathered around the campfire at night. For the moment, all their eyes are upon you. You draw a breath—
But before you utter your first word, I want you to think about these questions:
» What is my reason for telling this story?
» What do I want this story to do for my tribe? Teach? Enlighten? Frighten? Amuse? Exalt our shared history? Sing the praises of our chief? Dazzle them with my own brilliance and verbal cleverness?
» Who am I hoping to please or impress?
» How do I hope to leave my tribe feeling when I’m done telling this story, or what do I want to leave them thinking about?
» What am I tonight? A teacher? A preacher? A jester? An inspiration? A warning?
» Who am I, this time?
And a reminder…
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Pete Wood Challenge #38, “Happy Trails,” is now open for entries!
The Challenge: Write a story of up to 150 words in length using the prompt, “happy trails.” The prompt does not need to appear in the story. Any genre is fine.
Prizes:
1st place $20.00 USD, 2nd place $15.00, 3rd place, $10.00, Honorable
Mentions, (1-2) $5.00. The winning entries will be published online by
Stupefying Stories in June of 2025.
Who can enter: The contest is open to both Codexians and the general public. One entry per writer, please.
How to enter: Send your entry in the body of an email to:
southernfriedsfwriter@gmail.com
Include
the words “Happy Trails” in the subject line. It wouldn’t hurt to include
“Pete Wood Challenge 38” or “PWC 38” in your email, too.
Deadline: 7AM EST, May 15, 2025
Now get writing!
2 comments:
I know these are all great questions to ask before and during writing. I do find, though, that if I let the audience too much into my brain, it stifles my creativity. Finding the right balance is a constant struggle for me.
As it is for all of us. At one end of the continuum you have pandering to the conceits and prejudices of your audience, or as many seminars call it, writing to market. At the other end is staying so true to your own unique vision that what you write is incomprehensible to anyone else.
Somewhere in the middle is your comfortable place, and you'll find it by experiment and compromise. Some writers spend their whole life looking for it, only to find that it keeps moving around.
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