The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human, and How to Tell Them Better - Will Storr

Written by Will Storr
Read by Will Storr, James Clamp
Format: MP3
Bitrate: Mixed

How do master storytellers compel us? There have been many attempts to understand what makes a good story, but few have used a scientific approach. In The Science of Storytelling, Will Storr applies dazzling psychological research and cutting-edge neuroscience to our myths and archetypes to show how we can tell better stories, revealing, among other things, how storytellers - and also our brains - create worlds by being attuned to moments of unexpected change.

Storr’s superbly chosen examples range from Harry Potter to Jane Austen to Alice Walker, Greek drama to Russian novels to Native American folk tales, King Lear to Breaking Bad to children’s stories. With chapters such as “The Dramatic Question” and “Plot, Endings, and Meaning” and a practical, step-by-step appendix dedicated to “The Sacred Flaw Approach”, The Science of Storytelling is destined to become an invaluable resource for writers of all stripes, whether novelist, screenwriter, playwright, or writer of creative or traditional nonfiction.

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Sunday Times best seller

Who would we be without stories?

Stories mould who we are, from our character to our cultural identity. They drive us to act out our dreams and ambitions and shape our politics and beliefs. We use them to construct our relationships, to keep order in our law courts, to interpret events in our newspapers and social media. Storytelling is an essential part of what makes us human.

There have been many attempts to understand what makes a good story - from Joseph Campbell’s well-worn theories about myth and archetype to recent attempts to crack the ‘Bestseller Code’. But few have used a scientific approach. This is curious, for if we are to truly understand storytelling in its grandest sense, we must first come to understand the ultimate storyteller - the human brain.

In this scalpel-sharp, thought-provoking audiobook, Will Storr demonstrates how master storytellers manipulate and compel us, leading us on a journey from the Hebrew scriptures to Mr Men, from Booker Prize-winning literature to box set TV. Applying dazzling psychological research and cutting-edge neuroscience to the foundations of our myths and archetypes, he shows how we can use these tools to tell better stories - and make sense of our chaotic modern world.

©2019 Will Storr (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers
Critic Reviews
“One of my absolute favourite writers.” (Decca Aitkenhead)

“There’s nothing else quite like Will’s approach, with its illuminating, scientific take on storytelling. All writers, no matter what their level of experience, are likely to go away with a new understanding that will deepen and nourish their work.” (Craig Pearce, screenwriter of Strictly Ballroom, Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby)

“Storr is irascibly good company, and has something approaching genius for marshalling his material.” (Sunday Times)