Today’s meme, of sorts:
If you’re anything like me, one of your favorite reasons to read is for the story. Not for the character development and interaction. Not because of the descriptive, emotive powers of the writer. Not because of deep, literary meaning hidden beneath layers of metaphor. (Even though those are all good things.) No … it’s because you want to know what happens next? Or, um, is it just me?
I read for a variety of reasons, but I agree that the principal reason is for the story. There is something very human about telling and listening to stories. The story lets us connect with the other humans around us. (Ironically, the connection is usually a solitary one.) I use reading as an escape. I can escape into someone else’s story, someone else’s world. I still like all of the other things about a book – character development, scenes, literary symbolism, etc. – but, for me, they all go toward creating the story.
All of that being said, I don’t need a heart-stopping, two-hundred member cast, intricately crafted story. The story can be as simple as a man going out to fish or one night of a couple’s marriage. But I think it’s the stories that ultimately cause writers to write and readers to read.
What do you think about the basic human concept of the story?
{ 4 comments }
I agree; the plot is the thing.
Jessica, I think of your blog as my twin.
Honestly, I don’t think you can have much plot unless you have character development, metaphor and the like. The books that don’t have that- well I don’t finish them. I need that substance.
Stories are repertory of human experience regardless of race, gender, or culture. Sometimes I think of stories as folklore because they often have hints of tradition or psyche depending on where the storyteller comes from. But I agree that without characters there won’t be too much of a plot.
I enjoy stories, but I don’t think I read for them in particular — I think I read for characters, mostly, and sometimes for ideas. Maybe for atmosphere too.
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