The Storyteller’s Manifesto
For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by the art of storytelling. The unique chemistry of communication between people and their views, not only on humanity, but the world. Stories have been around for thousands of years though not all have survived to be told. Many great stories have been lost to humanity due to persecution, war, and the inability to simply pass it on through the generations. In this information age, we, as writers, have the ability to truly live forever through the stories we tell.
I take comfort in knowing the words I write here will carry on through the ages. The fact that I get to write these words freely, in my own voice, to a potential audience of billions alone, underscores how important words can be. My hope for you, as a storyteller, is that you find the same freedom and power, to unleash your own creativity the way you see fit.
When it comes to storytelling, there are no rules. Anyone who says you have to follow some arbitrary list of rules to create great stories does not see the full picture. The only rule I am going to give you is you are only allowed to do whatever you want. I have advice you can take or leave, but it is meant to help you develop your own unique process for storytelling.
That being said, I have a process I believe works well to create great stories, and this book represents my thoughts on the matter. This book is a guide I use for my own works, and will hopefully inspire you to create your own original story as well.
The following is a storyteller’s manifesto, a personal credo I follow when I create my own woks. I hope it will fuel passion and inspiration to bring the stories from your mind into the world, where all can experience them.
The Storyteller’s Manifesto
I am a storyteller, and this is my manifesto. Be it evolution, or the work of gods, each and every one of us has been given the intrinsic gift to want something better out of life. As children, we rely on food, drink, shelter, and the kindness of others to survive. When we are older, we then have the opportunity to give something back to humanity.
Some people choose to waste this energy, serving only their selfish needs. Others, will use their energy in positive ways, sometimes at the cost of their own lives, to make the world a better place for us all. On both sides of this energy use, there are those who tell their story. These stories can be informative, pursuasive, comedic, haunting, or inspiring, thereby allowing people to do things they might not normally do. The impression stories make on humanity are incredibly powerfull. Storytelling is powerful.
I take great joy in watching an idea germinate and grow into something beautiful, something lasting, something eternal. For those ideas that become great written works, we, as storytellers, have the ability and responsibility to raise the standards when opportunities present themselves, to research our topics carefully with a detailed eye, to separate the fact from fiction, and most importantly, to recognize past storyteller’s failures so we do not retell them. Our stories in written form have the power to change the world and last forever. Storytelling is eternal.
I believe the equation for quality original storytelling resides in creating empathic characters through persuasive catharsis. Great storytellers recognize the plot as the soul of a written work across all genres. Storytelling has soul.
Billions of people have been moved and changed by stories, both written or spoken in the oral traditions of the past. Positive stories of change have brought people together, created nations, and helped humanity grow beyond the boundaries of our world. These tales continue to inspire humanity to grow in unique ways. Storytelling inspires.
The digital medium of today’s information age, allows us to describe our place in history and culture, in as much detail as we deem necessary. With temperament and skill, this medium can help proliferate our stories around the world and farther in an instant. I feel this is a positive thing. No longer are we bound by the location or the language our words come in. There is no limit to how far an audience a story can reach. Storytelling has no boundaries.
Storytelling is many things: powerful, eternal, soulful, inspirational and boundless. As a storyteller, I will tell my tales until I can think, speak, and write no longer. Even then, at the end of my days, after my stories have been told, my words will still have resonance through the ages ahead. I will do my best to create original plots and inspire others to do the same so they can tell their stories. There will never be a better time than now to tell your story. Immortality awaits those who will tell their tales.
Storytelling Through the Ages
Once upon a time, there were no stories, at least none that were being told by humans. From the dark the universe sprung to life, and a few billion years later, this planet we call Earth began spiraling in orbit around our sun.
The Earth cooled from what was probably a very impressive looking molten ball of goo to a place, several billion years later, capable of sustaining life, most notably of the human kind. When humanity showed up on the scene storytelling began. At first it was anarchy. We were nomads in the dark, trying to understand the world and each other.
Anarchy systems only last for so long. Tribal governments formed because we quickly realized we could accomplish more by banding together than we could by remaining alone. Storytelling was critical in the information exchange of these early tribes that moved us forward to where we are today. Stories of education and morality were passed down through the generations, sometimes by writing, but many through more basic oral traditions.
The need to convey a message to others is present at the beating heart of storytelling. Storytelling is constantly evolving. We can still tell a story orally, or write one, but many more technologies are making it easier for us to tell those stories. Since stories are boundless it is helpful to think about storytelling from a world point of view, just not an American or western perspective. Storyteller’s try endlessly to write the “Great American Novel”, but I feel this goal is limited. Why not write a story that captures the hearts of billions and beyond? What we need are more “Great World Novels.”
Anyone should be able to tell a story they want, but this is not always the case. Those that have First Amendment rights can write and pass along stories freely with no issues; however, there are still many in the world under oppressive regimes, who do not have those basic rights. The stories and information they have access to is limited. More depressing, perhaps, is the idea that many of these people may be living in a small information bubble and may not even know what is going on in the world around them.
Imagine only having access to the stories your parents, company, government, or religion told you? While it is absolutely true that stories can free your mind, stories, depending on who they are coming from, can also enslave it. Sadly, this is the case in many parts of the world. What those enslaved need, and what we need to give them, is access to the stories of the world.
Storytelling and freedom of information should be a human right for everyone. Those who have control over the information that flows through the Internet change daily, but someday, there will be free access to everyone on the planet who wants it. No government on the planet will be able to stop people from accessing the knowledge of the world. It is simply inevitable. The continued proliferation of First Amendment rights in the world and beyond will keep it all in check. It is only a matter of time.
These enslaved masses I speak of have stories that need to be heard by us, and the world has stories they need to hear, as well. It is my hope that this book can be a catalyst for both sides of this gap and help those in persecution around the world and beyond to tell their stories so we can all share in the knowledge.
For this book to be a Unified Field Theory of Storytelling, we must bring together many ideas for testing. This is a theory that works for me, but might be different than what storytellers have been used to. What we have to determine first is what elements make up a great story. It is easy to say if a story is great, critical and financial success will follow. It is also important to note that critical and financial success is relative and should