THE FIVE ELEMENTS OF STORYTELLING continued…
The element character is the water element of storytelling. Dynamic and fluid, characters interact in dialogue and actions like water flowing from tributaries into streams and rivers. Characters provide the life's blood of the story coursing through its veins and pulsating through its arteries. Characters have a vital part to play in the life of the story is vital as water is to life itself. Although, it is said that characters make this story or the characters are the story, it is more accurate to say that characters saturate the story with life. Characters are also as different from one another as the different kinds of water channels that flow throughout the land. Some characters are full of action or drama just like some rivers have rapids. Some characters are the central players in the story and can be seen as the broad main river of the story. Some characters have only small parts to play and trickle in to the story quickly and then are absorbed. Some stories have many characters and thus they produce an intricate interplay that delivers the flowing waters of storytelling.
The element setting is the earth element of storytelling. The setting is the structural frame and support; backdrop and foreground; landscape and cityscape; in which the story happens. Like the ground underneath our feet the setting cannot be taken for granted. It is a feature of storytelling that should be as rich and varied as the earth itself. Stories can be set in many different places such as: forests, deserts, tundras, mountains, glaciers, or volcanic regions. To truly appreciate a setting not only should it be vividly visually understood, but also all five senses should be brought to bear to describe it and bring the setting to life. Forests have many fragrances, flavors, sounds, and textures that are particularly related to them. Such as the scent of pine, the sound of woodpeckers, the sweetness of honeysuckle, the prickliness of pinecones. Thus, the setting is an integral and essential part of storytelling.
The element theme is the spirit element of storytelling. The theme provides a way to reach Nirvana, Enlightenment, Zen, or any higher state of consciousness within the story. The theme is the central truth of the story its lesson, its benefit, its depth of understanding. This ethereal element, theme, of storytelling is the essence of the story. It allows the story to have a greater purpose and meaning to go beyond the physical realm and to establish itself as an icon of greater perception. Sometimes a theme delves so deeply into the consciousness that it begins to interact with the reader's subconscious and provides an epiphany. These epiphanies completely change their reader's perception of the world, their life, or nature in general. Thus, the theme of the story possibly provides the greatest and longest lasting effect on the reader of any of the elements of storytelling.
In conclusion, there are actually two other elements of storytelling that I would call the rare earth elements style and grammar. Style is the metal element of storytelling. Style can brighten a story with its shiny presence, from clapping the cymbals of humor to coining a phrase. Style can also provide proper pace at which the story takes place, from the speeding of a bullet, to the slow movement of a barge. The understanding of how all the other story elements fit together, transitioning between them, and bridging the gaps from one to another is the mainstay of style. Grammar, on the other hand, is the wood element of storytelling. Grammar has rigid yet sometimes flexible rules which are easily broken yet are also just as easily fixed. Grammar can be seen as the framework of the story made from many kinds of timber, from the beams of sentence structure to the joists of word usage. Thus style and grammar are elements that influence the main five elements of storytelling.
The element setting is the earth element of storytelling. The setting is the structural frame and support; backdrop and foreground; landscape and cityscape; in which the story happens. Like the ground underneath our feet the setting cannot be taken for granted. It is a feature of storytelling that should be as rich and varied as the earth itself. Stories can be set in many different places such as: forests, deserts, tundras, mountains, glaciers, or volcanic regions. To truly appreciate a setting not only should it be vividly visually understood, but also all five senses should be brought to bear to describe it and bring the setting to life. Forests have many fragrances, flavors, sounds, and textures that are particularly related to them. Such as the scent of pine, the sound of woodpeckers, the sweetness of honeysuckle, the prickliness of pinecones. Thus, the setting is an integral and essential part of storytelling.
The element theme is the spirit element of storytelling. The theme provides a way to reach Nirvana, Enlightenment, Zen, or any higher state of consciousness within the story. The theme is the central truth of the story its lesson, its benefit, its depth of understanding. This ethereal element, theme, of storytelling is the essence of the story. It allows the story to have a greater purpose and meaning to go beyond the physical realm and to establish itself as an icon of greater perception. Sometimes a theme delves so deeply into the consciousness that it begins to interact with the reader's subconscious and provides an epiphany. These epiphanies completely change their reader's perception of the world, their life, or nature in general. Thus, the theme of the story possibly provides the greatest and longest lasting effect on the reader of any of the elements of storytelling.
In conclusion, there are actually two other elements of storytelling that I would call the rare earth elements style and grammar. Style is the metal element of storytelling. Style can brighten a story with its shiny presence, from clapping the cymbals of humor to coining a phrase. Style can also provide proper pace at which the story takes place, from the speeding of a bullet, to the slow movement of a barge. The understanding of how all the other story elements fit together, transitioning between them, and bridging the gaps from one to another is the mainstay of style. Grammar, on the other hand, is the wood element of storytelling. Grammar has rigid yet sometimes flexible rules which are easily broken yet are also just as easily fixed. Grammar can be seen as the framework of the story made from many kinds of timber, from the beams of sentence structure to the joists of word usage. Thus style and grammar are elements that influence the main five elements of storytelling.
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