Storytelling has a big past, going back as far as when the human species was born. Storytelling back then wasn’t very advanced, however, it still provided us with a lot of history. Everybody and everything has a story. And so storytelling has been used to decipher our history, mostly through oral tradition, which was passed down through generations, and cave paintings, giving us an accurate picture of what was happening at the time.
We also had fables back then, most notably being the ones created by Aesop, who was historically regarded as a 6th-century BCE storyteller. Aesop is credited with creating over 600 fables—short, moral-driven tales often featuring anthropomorphic animals. Likely, he never wrote them down himself; the stories were transmitted orally and collected centuries later. He was responsible for creating the most famous fables like the Tortoise and the Hare. These fables still exist today and are familiar with a lot of generations, demonstrating that storytelling has stood the test of time.
Why storytelling is so important
Storytelling is important for many reasons. First and foremost, it allows us to gain knowledge of what is around us, and its past. Without storytelling, we would not be able to figure out what happened before us and we couldn’t gain knowledge from our past.
For instance, Nicolaus Copernicus was a well-known astronomer who was the first person to conceive the idea that the Sun was at the center of the solar system while the Earth revolved around the Sun. At the time of this idea, many people believed in another theory that was conceived by Aristotle, a Greek philosopher.
The theory was that the Earth was at the center of everything and the Sun rotated around the Earth. Due to fear of being prosecuted for his ideas, he waited till the end of his life to publish his theories. If he did not publish them due to whatever reason, it would’ve taken centuries for others to figure out that the Earth revolved around the Sun, which would’ve delayed other projects into outer space and overall, our knowledge of the place outside of Earth.
The second reason why storytelling is so important is because it teaches our brains to connect the dots. If you read a book, it’s obviously a story. However, the idea doesn’t click all at once upon reading the first page. You need to read more of the story to connect every detail and dialogue together to reach the whole theme of the story and figure out the order of the story, or the plot.
Good Stories Never Die
With so many stories written or told in one form or another, what makes a good story?
“Stories can make us laugh or cry, they can be short or long, fleeting or unforgettable. But at their core, they’re true reflections of who we are—shaped by experience, emotions, memory, influences, imagination, and voice,” said Maritza Cosano, journalism teacher at Bak Middle School of the Arts. She is also a professional journalist and author of young adult novels, children’s books, TV scripts and screenplays. Her company, Writers’ Circle WPB connects writers living in West Palm Beach. The workshop-like setting group meets monthly at coffee shops, where they critique their work, collaborate on some, and get them ready for publication.
“We each have stories worth telling, whether they’re fully formed or still unfolding. I believe in the power of sharing them, and in the connections that happen when we do,” said Cosano. “Writers need writers, and as we share our stories, that sparks our imaginations.” Cosano and the other writers also talk about today’s market, how storytelling has changed and how that affects, not only writers and their works, but the world at large.
The recent twisting of modern storytelling has gone too far to ignore. It can start from as simple as a lie or some gossip into full blown scandals and fraud. This takes place in modern media very often. News outlets, government officials, and social media twist a lot of information to make you feel scared, angry, or relieved, even though they shouldn’t.
Whether people do it to become famous or infamous, as the case may be, modern storytelling increasingly blurs the gray line between objective truth and subjective narrative, often blending fact with emotional interpretation to create compelling, yet complex, content.
“Whether fiction or non fiction, storytelling can never die. If it did, humanity would too,” concluded Cosano. “Storytelling is our obligation to the next generation. As writers and storytellers, if all we are doing is propaganda type of writing, or using AI to write our stories, which is another serious matter altogether, then we are doing a disservice to our society, to our profession, and more importantly, to the next generation, and to the kids of that generation. As storytellers, our duty is to the pen, and using that powerful tool to effectively create art. If you give something of meaning to your readers by inspiring, engaging, entertaining, and educating them with a story, then you are keeping the art of storytelling alive, and history moving forward.”
