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Zusammenfassung von The Science of Storytelling

Name: The Science of Storytelling
Rating: 4.2 (439 reviews)
Author: Will Storr

Will Storr

The scientific underpinnings of a good story

4.2 (439 Bewertungen)

21 Min.

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Persuasion Storytelling

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The Science of Storytelling
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What’s in it for me? Learn the scientific underpinnings of a good story.

In an age where we listen to podcasts on our way to work, read the news at our desks, then head home to binge watch TV shows on our couches, it seems like stories are everywhere we look. Not only do we spend all day consuming stories, but we’re also constantly crafting them. Storytelling is a crucial part of our social selves, whether we’re making up an excuse for a missed assignment, gossiping about a friend, writing a letter, or drafting a screenplay.

Stories are as much a part of our lives as eating and sleeping – so it’s worth taking a closer look at what makes them tick. Drawing on a wide range of scientific research, these blinks provide a roadmap on how to build a story that speaks to an audience. They show you how to manipulate the human brain into feeling strong emotions, connecting with characters, and staying hooked as the plot progresses.

You’ll learn that the secret to building the “perfect story” isn’t so secret. It just involves taking an in-depth look at the way our brains work.

In these blinks, you’ll find out

why you sometimes yell at the door you stub your toe on;
why we always root for the underdog; and
what childhood stories and propaganda films have in common.

Our brains are built to enjoy stories.

Have you ever wondered if what you experience as real is in fact just a powerful simulation? You may be surprised to learn that it’s not just a conspiracy – it’s true.

Objective reality is impossible for us to see. The reality we experience is just a story that our brain tells us. You’ll have encountered this phenomenon if you’ve ever mistaken a bush for a shadowy human figure while walking alone at night. You didn’t just think you saw the figure – for a moment you actually saw it.

Our brain casts us as the hero of the narrative of the reality it creates. To do so, it will reconfigure our past choices to fit our heroic narrative, telling us, for example, that it was okay to steal from our boss because he profits unfairly from our work. Even convicts rate themselves as above average for qualities like morality or kindness, even though they have made clear transgressions in those categories.

Our brain also seeks to create a linear plot in our lives, ordering our memories into cause and effect sequences. This capacity to find cause and effect even where it doesn’t exist was demonstrated by two Soviet filmmakers in the early 1900s. They screened a series of films for an audience where each film showed an actor’s expressionless face alongside stock footage of various scenes, like one showing a bowl of soup, or another of a woman lying in a coffin. The audience gushed at the actor’s skills, marveling at his mournful expression over the coffin or his thoughtful look over the soup.

The story our brain creates includes not just us, the hero, but other characters. We’re surrounded by other people, and one of our deepest urges is to understand how their minds work. It’s one of the ways our brains seek to control our environment.

Why are we driven to understand other people? The answer is rooted in survival. Our species has lived on because of human cooperation, and as we moved into fixed settlements, having social skills for trading and negotiations became a valuable asset. In humans of all ages, the urge to understand others is so overwhelming that we even project human feelings onto inanimate objects, like a “vengeful” door swinging back to hit us after we slam it.

Stories give us an opportunity to satisfy our itch to understand the minds of others. And there’s a particular type of character we are drawn to – one with flaws.

We’re particularly interested in flawed characters.

Our brains cast us as the heroes of our stories, a narrative in which we’re always morally superior. As a result, we often look past our own faults. However, as we enter the mind of a flawed character through story, a safe space is created for exploring our flaws.

Many flaws can be traced back to beliefs solidified in early life that help create our unique warped vision of how the world works. Cultural influences play a major role. For example, a character growing up in Victorian England would be taught the values of composure and self-discipline, whereas a character who grew up during the pioneer era in the American West would have been influenced by ideas about personal freedom and individual ambition.

A well-drawn character is crucial; if you create the right character, a rich plot will inevitably follow.

A good story idea is important, but a truly stimulating plot flows from a well-drawn character – a character with flaws, personality quirks, and a unique worldview that will cause her to act in interesting ways. For example, the novel Gone Girl explores what happens when Amy, a woman with an extreme notion of the importance of her reputation, catches her husband cheating on her. Her warped values cause her to go to murderous lengths to keep it intact, taking the plot in an exciting direction.

When we speak about a flawed character, we’re mostly referring to the character’s flawed theory of control, or the way he believes he must act in order for the world around him to stay stable. A character’s theory of control is tested when confronted with unanticipated change in his situation, like the butler, Stevens, in The Remains of the Day. Stevens has always excelled in his job because of his reserved attitude, but he finds himself doing poorly when his new employer expects him to be more personable and banter with him.

A rich plot should prod us to wonder, “Who is this character, really?”

An elderly man lies on his deathbed, a snow globe in hand. He says a single word, “rosebud,” and the snow globe crashes to the floor. Thus begins the classic movie Citizen Kane. Immediately we’re drawn in. We ask ourselves – who is this man?

A good story should always have us wondering who a character really is. This is the question that keeps us reading or watching, and it’s founded in our urge to fully understand the minds of others. But how do we determine what kind of person a character is? We put them in specific situations to reveal their character.

You can further stimulate the story by giving the brain space to fill in the gaps.

The poet Robert Frost conjured an instant image with the opening line, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.” There’s a reason we remember the small details of stories long after the intricacies of plot are forgotten.

These details feed our naturally curious brains. Our brains want to fill in gaps in information, especially as they gain more knowledge. Consider a study in which some participants were shown three pictures of a person’s body parts, while other groups were shown just two pictures, and others only one. The researchers found that the more pictures the participants saw, the more eager they were to see a picture of the whole person. You can arouse the brain’s curiosity by giving away just enough information, a tool you can utilize to keep your reader interested in your plot and characters.

In the end, most good stories are ultimately about a change in status.

The animal world is fueled by status. Crickets keep a running total of wins versus losses against cricket foes. Chimpanzees keep an eye on their alphas, always looking for signs that they may need to be dethroned. Humans are no different.

While our ambition to understand other humans reflects our desire to “get along” with others, we have another deeply ingrained need – achieving status. Researchers have observed that people’s physical and mental well-being seem to depend on the status given to them by others. However, our need for status often clashes with the pressure to act selflessly, creating drama and conflict.

Stories have a unique power to change our view of the world.

When we think of propaganda, we may recall posters calling for war recruitment or movies that show political rivals as enemies. But in a sense, most stories, from children’s books to bestselling thrillers, are a form of propaganda. They teach us lessons about the right ways to behave, and contain warnings for what happens when we don’t.

Stories teach us lessons about ways to gain and secure our status as individuals. This is most easily recognized in religious texts and childhood stories. For example, in the children’s book Mr. Nosey, a nosy character is repeatedly punished for his nosy behavior, until he stops and is welcomed back into the community.

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Worum geht es in The Science of Storytelling?

The Science of Storytelling (2019) shows you how to craft a compelling story using lessons from psychology and neuroscience. These blinks walk you through the steps of creating a narrative that grips your audience by subtly manipulating their brains. From demonstrating how to create a perfectly flawed character to explaining the power of stimulating details, Will Storr reveals the crucial elements that go into building a great story.

Wer The Science of Storytelling lesen sollte

Aspiring writers
Creatives whose work involves storytelling, like journalists or advertisers
Anyone who wants to look at stories more critically

Über den Autor

Will Storr is an award-winning writer and journalist who has won prizes such as the AFM award for Best Investigative Journalism and a National Press Club award for excellence. His writing has appeared in outlets like The New York Times and The Guardian and he is the author of several critically acclaimed books, such as Selfie: How the West Became Self Obsessed, and his novel The Hunger and the Howling of Killian Lone. In addition to writing, he teaches storytelling classes and leads workshops on the Science of Storytelling.

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Communication Skills Science Creativity

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