How important is story

You may think the world no longer cares for writing.

You may think all the world wants is images and graphics and that words have fallen by the wayside. But you would be wrong.

Especially when it comes to story. Author, lecturer and story consultant Robert McKee knows the fundamental role story plays in shaping our lives.

The world now consumes films, novels, theatre, and television in such quantities and with such ravenous hunger that the story arts have become humanity’s prime source of inspiration.

We yearn for story because we seek to order chaos and gain insight into our life, into our being. Story is how we make sense of it all. How we understand our existence.

Our appetite for story is a reflection of the profound human need to grasp the patterns of living. Not merely as an intellectual exercise but within a very personal, emotional experience.

Some see this craving for story as simple entertainment, an escape from life rather than an exploration of it. A mere distraction.

But what is entertainment? To be entertained is to be immersed in the ceremony of story to an intellectually and emotionally satisfying end.

To be entertained is to live more fully.