Understanding me

One of the things that interests me most about story telling is that every interaction between people can be considered a "story:" real or fictional, long or short, expressed or felt. And a really good story can bring teller and listener closer together, it can incite revolution, or it can calm raging wars. A really good story is capable of doing anything and is only limited by the imagination of those involved.

In trying to understand what makes a good story, I've come to realize how personal and at the same time how universal this can be. From the universal stand point a good story needs a good hook, the better the hook the more compelling it is to dive into and forget everything else that might try and pull you away from the story. The story then needs to hold the "listeners" attention. Very much like the hooks, the hold needs to persuade the "listener" over and over again how important it is to follow the story all the way through to the end. And then there has to be a payoff at the end. The "storyteller" has to deliver on his/her promises that the "ride" was well worth the "price of admission".

Yet for each of those, (hook, hold, and payoff) what makes them compelling is individual. Each person can have very different goals for their life, how and where they find entertainment, and how each element of their life provide fulfillment and enrich their lives to make them more than they would have otherwise been. Some of these individual characteristics can be categorized, like if they are just drifting though life without any real or solid goals or if they are strongly compelled to some very specific goals. Other characteristics can be much more individualized like a strong affinity for purple and pink dragons with social personality disorders which compel them to try and please those less likely to be accepting.

In order for me to become as incredibly successful as I would love to be I realize that I have to have passion, drive, and determination. The more lofty ones goals are the less likely they are to be obtained without a huge amount of dedication. Fortunately for me, I am rather extremely good at making myself into whatever I want to become (if I do say so myself). Unfortunately for me, this is only half of what is needed (at best). The other half or more that I need to succeed is determined by how well I understand my "listeners." What complicates this even more is how little each person really understands them selves and can convey it if merely asked. I like how well Malcolm Gladwell is able to explain this.

As I explore deeper into myself I realize that there are some stories that I'm not interested in. There are some stories that I just think I'm not interested in until I really look and see what the story is about. There are stories that I think I'm interested in, but leave me feeling empty and betrayed once I've followed them. And there are some stories that captivate me from the beginning and pull me through in ways that I would have never expected and bring me to places that I long to return to again and again.

I think that the better I get to understand others, the better I understand myself. Hopefully through this process I to can learn to create the types of compelling stories that for now I can only dream of, not only in the fictional novels I hope to create but in each magical interaction I have with those around me.