Story of my life

There are two things which makes for a good story. It's remarkable resemblance to our everyday lives, and the means to which it is being told. When we're watching a movie or reading a novel, we would tend to, unknown to most of us, draw reference from past experiences to associate ourselves more with the characters and to empathise with their (usually dreadful) situations. It is hard to observe indifferently as the lives of others unfold before you, be it an accurate account or a fragment of one's imagination. And I pity those who can. I do.


But if the feelings of detachment towards a story was due to ill exposure to life, then I guess I could understand for it takes one to know another. Hence the need for the story to be close enough to life, literally or metaphorically, for appropriate parallels to be drawn. We do not need to lose a child to cancer to understand the pain and agony, we've lost a grandparent before.


I guess one could argue that a better story would be one which is able to immerse its audiences into another state of life, one which was never experienced before. Like movies involving wizards, or pirates, or vampires, or (the most recent) a blue alien body. But the short-lived fantasy would dissolve once the mind clears and reality sets in. The story which makes the most impact would more often be one which we best associate our lives with.


That said, a good story must also have the ability to amplify feelings. To be able to describe most precisely the emotions of the characters requires not only a strong grasp for the language but also an in tune sense towards life. Make known to the audience, his/her feelings and that creates the bond. Let the play of words do the fine tuning of emotions.

It has not slipped my attention that some stories are harder a deal to be made impressive than others. Its only fault lies in its lack of understanding listeners. And so, from a different perspective I guess one could say that having a good story-teller is equally important to making a great story as it is to have in one's company, one's right audience.