Storytelling

As  a writer and a bookworm, it seems only natural that I am fascinated by stories. We hear stories daily: someone telling us about their day or even their holiday or perhaps recounting something they have seen on their way to the grocery store. Stories have been told in one way or another since the prehistoric times. Just look at the painting made in caves. Telling stories is, just like dreaming, a way to process experiences.  

My fascination for stories goes beyond the written word, though I have to admit that books are my favourite medium for stories. It is for me the easiest way to get completely immersed in the story. Because there are rarely images in novels, I am encouraged use my imagination while reading. This way I can add a lot of elements created by me to the story. Often I imagine characters to look very different from the description. For some reason I just cannot seem to remember more than basic body shape, hair colour, eye colour and a distinctive feature like a scar or tattoo. Exactly how a character looks rarely matter in a story anyway.

Writing makes me imagine things even more clearly than reading. It is my world filled with my places and my characters. Scenes play in my mind as a film. I can see them more clearly when I close my eyes and nothing disturbs me. Thus at night, right before I fall asleep, my story because very vivid. I love these moments and treasure them.

Another way of storytelling I really enjoy are games. While games created the visual and don’t leave a lot up to the gamer’s imagination, you still have to think about what you do. Especially RPGs (Roleplaying games) ought to have a great story where you get into the skin of a character and explore the world and save it from evil. Games with great stories enable me to dig deep into my characters being and see the world through their eyes. I love games like Dragon Age and The Elderscrolls series were in your decisions have an impact on the game world and the further outcome of the story. Games can enable you to live the story on  a very interactive level.

A lot of people like films and television series as a way to tell and listen to stories. While I can enjoy a good film or series, I often have trouble staying focused. Even good films and series tend to bore me. The reason for this is that it is a very passive experience. I do not have the imagine how everything looks, nor do I have to control a character and make decisions. The only moment I can get really into a film is in the cinema when everything is dark and there are no other distractions around but the film. Even while watching great films at home I can get bored. I just hate doing nothing but staring at a screen. Watching a film goes often hand in hand with snacking or painting my nails or something.  

While there are many more ways to experience stories these are for me the main means. I would love to know what your favourite way is to experience stories, so feel free to leave them in the comment section below!