What is a Story?

Story: an account of imaginary or real people and events told for entertainment.

A narrative, story, or tale is an accounting of related events or experiences told in a logically laid out fashion to communicate cultural mores, provide cultural viewpoints, to teach a lesson, etc. We derive the word narrative from the Latin verb narrare which means to tell. Stories have various forms from the simplest of cave drawings and decorated pottery right up to the newly adopted video eBooks. Stories DO NOT exist simply because we want them to. They exist because we need them to.

We need to reassure ourselves that our existence is what we see, what we know, what we feel emotionally, what we are, and what we will become. Stories are not just a record of events that mark passing of the years in our cultures, they surpass written record of our deeds. They are fictional or real accountings of how we perceive.

Our perceptions of the events are recorded or orally transmitted through time, creating a running commentary on our societies so we do not forget where we came from. The story form may evolve with time, but this is an adaption of our wants and needs not entirely technologically oriented. Our perceptions of culture and society have changed over time, so why not our perceptions of how to record them?

Types of Story

The story form may have started as oral accountings of various deeds, but we do not limit story to this form:

• Music
  • each element is a part of the story
    • Rhythm
    • Percussion
    • Tempo
    • Words
  • Each genre of music uses these building blocks uniquely
• Dance
  • Dance moves combine to create a tale
  • Each dance tells a story differently
    • Ballroom dancing
    • Rave dancing
    • Mosh pits
  • Commemorative dances mark social eras, events in history, people
• Acting
  • Bards
  • Theater
  • Movies
  • Opera
• Poetry

There are many other forms of story as told through the various arts of storytelling this list is not definitive.