#storytelling

What is literature but the expression of moods by the vehicle of symbol and incident? And are there not moods which need heaven, hell, purgatory, and faeryland for their expression, no less than this dilapidated earth? Nay, are there not moods which shall find no expression unless there be men who dare to mix heaven, hell, purgatory, and faeryland together, or even to set the heads of beasts to the bodies of men, or to thrust the souls of men into the heart of rocks? Let us go forth, the tellers of tales, and seize whatever prey the heart long for, and have no fear. Everything exists, everything is true, and the earth is only a little dust under our feet." ("A Teller of Tales") ↗

— W.B. Yeats

#literature #storytellers #storytelling #men

Of course that is not the whole story, but that is the way with stories; we make them what we will. It’s a way of explaining the universe while leaving the universe unexplained, it’s a way of keeping it all alive, not boxing it into time. Everyone who tells a story tells it differently, just to remind us that everybody sees it differently. Some people say there are true things to be found, some people say all kinds of things can be proved. I don’t believe them. The only thing for certain is how complicated it all is, like string full of knots. It’s all there but hard to find the beginning and impossible to fathom the end. The best you can do is admire the cat’s cradle, and maybe knot it up a bit more. History should be a hammock for swinging and a game for playing, the way cats play. Claw it, chew it, rearrange it and at bedtime it’s still a ball of string full of knots. Nobody should mind. Some people make a lot of money out of it. Publishers do well, children, when bright, can come top. It’s an all-purpose rainy day pursuit, this reducing of stories called history. ↗

— Jeanette Winterson

#money

I think the best stories always end up being about the people rather than the event, which is to say character-driven. ↗

— Stephen King

#on-writing #stories #storytelling #storytelling

It's a leap of faith doing any serialised storytelling. ↗

— J. J. Abrams

#doing #faith #leap #storytelling

I've always said I have one skill. That skill - if I have it at all - is storytelling. ↗

— Mitch Albom

#i #said #skill #storytelling

I've never been a fan of whimsical or confusing storytelling. ↗

— Paul Thomas Anderson

#confusing #fan #i #never #storytelling

Storytelling is an ancient and honorable act. An essential role to play in the community or tribe. It's one that I embrace wholeheartedly and have been fortunate enough to be rewarded for. ↗

— Russell Banks

#ancient #been #community #embrace #enough

Storytelling is fine as long as you can encourage people to act on the stories. ↗

— Karen Armstrong

#encourage #fine #long #people #stories

The book has many different characteristics: some are extremely old-fashioned storytelling traits, but there are also a fair number of postmodern traits, and the self-consciousness is one. ↗

— Jeffrey Eugenides

#book #characteristics #different #extremely #fair

I like storytelling movies and more than that I like historical movies; and I think someday I'll definitely make a movie about the past 50 years history. ↗

— Asghar Farhadi

#definitely #historical #history #i #i think