Yesterday I spent some time on the question of why we tell stories. I started by going over the functions of story outlined by professor Harvey. Today I wanted to break from her list and start listing some functions of story that I observe, note any overlaps, and examine these functions more closely. I would also like to try and identify which functions of story are most important for socially impactful creative writing, since this is what I am most interested in.
I’ll start with a divergent thinking technique. I’m going to make a list, as long as I can make it, of all the things that a story can do. Remember, in divergent thinking, one does not go for quality, but quantity. Some of the items in the following list might seem silly and many will overlap, but bear with me.
We tell stories to:
- teach
- learn
- understand
- categorize
- separate
- (rationalize)
- explain
- justify
- entertain
- boast
- laugh
- plan
- give example of
- guide
- trick, or mislead
- sell something
- convince
- argue a point
- express ourselves
- gain attention
- condemn
- promote
- evoke emotion
- capture experience
- give order to life
- heal
- provoke action
- provoke thought
- reveal
- express needs and desires
- pass on experience
- provide a different point of view
- honor someone or something
- provoke change in society
- provoke change in the reader
- present questions
- connect with others
- relieve tension
- make a living
- gain esteem
- describe
- highlight an issue
- solve a problem
- condense information
- create
- warn
- encourage
- protect something or someone
- expose something
- give reason life
- explain the human condition
- establish social values
- establish social ideas
- work out an idea
- scare
- break down prejudice
- change minds
- challenge minds
- pass the time
- exercise the imagination
- be in control
- inspire
- be inspired
- easy pain
- remember
- test ideas
- live out dreams
- define ourselves
- define society
- gain love
- be remembered
- live forever
As I suspected, this list contains a lot of overlap. I’ve gone ahead and taken some time to severely condense my list. I went through the list several times, trying to find relationships between the items and combining them into general groups. I ended up with six functions of story.
We tell stories to:
- enlighten someone
- deceive someone
- entertain someone
- preserve something
- provoke thought, emotion, or action
- express thoughts or feelings
These six functions of story are inclusive of those provided by Professor Hannah B. Harvey. Referring back to Harvey’s list: delineating relationships fits within #4 and #6; making life coherent fits within #1 and #6; questioning life fits in #1 and #5; and revealing human truths fits within #1.
As you can see, #2 and #3, deceive and entertain, are two functions of story not captured in Harvey’s list. Also, my list is much more general than Harvey’s list. These six functions of story are subject to change over time, of course, but they will serve as a good launch pad for my further investigation into the art and craft of story.
I have a question: Isn’t the function of story and the reason for story two separate issues?
Yes and no. The functions of a story are all the things a story might do, while the reasons for story are all the motivations behind doing those things. The reason I have focused so much on the function of story rather than the motivation for story is because the motivations are as diverse as the storyteller, while the functions are much more limited and constant — whether or not I captured them all here on my first try or not.
It would be a very long list indeed if I tried to write out all the reasons why I might tell a story, but whatever the reason or combination of reasons — change the world, teach children proper values, honor a loved one, preserve my experiences, make people laugh — the storyteller will be accomplishing one of the six functions.
This might all seem very abstract and inconsequential at the moment, but remember, I am just exploring right now, investigating, grasping at ephemeral concepts, and trying to make sense of them. Generating this crude six-function list will give me a reference point for all my further investigation into story, and that investigation will no doubt require changes to the list, and possibly abolish it. But for now, it will do nicely.
I want to take a moment to start thinking about which of these functions are most important for my creative writing. My motivation for telling stories is to bring about positive change in individuals and society. So it seems to me, the most important function of a story, the most important thing a story can do, is #5: to provoke thought, emotion, or action. While this function seems to be the most important, it relies on some of the other functions to be accomplished. I can ask: If my goal is to provoke thought, emotion, and action, what else must I accomplish?
I think the answer to this question could be: First I must entertain so that I can express, so that I can enlighten, so that I can eventually provoke.
These thoughts are starting to spread outside of the scope of why we tell stories into something else, so I will just leave this for now and come back to it another day when I have time to explore the ideas further.
Thank you very much for reading. In case you missed my first journal entry on why we tell stories, you can check it out here. As always, your comments are encouraged.
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