I have a great story to tell you. It is the story of how evil came into the world. This isn’t the story you know, this isn’t about Eve and Adam and the apple. This story comes before that.
This is from long ago, a time you wouldn’t be able to recall. Back when animals spoke the same language as people. One year, all of the animals were getting together for their annual art festival. Every year there was a theme, like fairytales or sunsets and sunrises or celebration. The theme this year was danger and fright. All of the most talented animals from all over the world performed or showed off some sort of art piece. People and animals flocked to this event from everywhere to watch and explore the miles of artwork and performances that were laid out. Some animals did projects in groups, some pairs, and some individuals. Everyone was having a gay old time. There were spooky sculptures and plays about ghouls.
Finally, the last performer stood up on stage and told a story. This story was terrible. The worst thing anyone had ever heard. Neither person nor animal had felt scared like this before. Children were escorted out and everyone began to hold the ones around them.
Once the storyteller was finished, the panel of judges decided that of all the artwork and performances that were there – this story was the most dangerous and frightening. The host came on stage and told the animal “You did it! You win! Thank you very much for your story, but we don’t want your story. It was too frightening – take it back.”
But they couldn’t. The story was now out there in the world and could never be retracted. Be careful of the stories you tell – or more importantly, the ones that you listen to.
—
Thank you for reading my version of this story. As a performance artist I’m constantly acting as a story teller. This can be through song or text. Something that I identify with even stronger is storytelling through my body with dance as well as acting. Understanding story through a persons body is something I use everyday as a server. I watch peoples body language to know without asking if someone is done eating, wants more of something, or wants to ask a question. Telling this story to friends and family was not a new experience for me, nor was it unusual for them to have me want to do such a thing.
I was interested in changing as much of it as possible while still keeping the same tone and obviously the same ending. The animal idea came out of wanting to stray away from humans, however I found that when telling my story people found the story difficult to surrender to. Adults were unwilling to believe a story that revolved around animals
While listening to Thomas King’s interview, he mentioned short stories and novels being his favorite to write. The question begins in Part 1 at 5:51 here. King goes on to talk about enjoying writing on his own while other genres force a writer to deal with many other people. Although King is referring to physically having to work with others, this got me thinking about how my writing was not done alone. While I am writing I am constantly thinking about how what I am writing will land on my audience.
Is this others find when they are blogging, writing their stories, or doing other forms of writing?
Works Cited
“BibleGateway.” .com: A Searchable Online Bible in over 150 Versions and 50
Languages. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2016.
Wilson, Jordan. “Another Interview with Thomas King (October 2009).”Canadian
Literature. Canadian Literature, 2009. Web. 26 May 2016.
Hi Stephanie,
I’m a former drama kid myself, so I can understand that need to express yourself through movement as well as words. I think that it true of all art forms to spend just as much time thinking about the audiences reception of the art as the actual creation of it. I have been told in the past that, unless it’s a personal diary, all writing is meant for the reader, not the writer. So yes, I think I work in a similar manner to you.
Cheers!
Hi Dilinie,
I find the audience and their reception is talked about even more so with other art forms than writing. Such as doing a particular motion on stage extra large so the audience will understand or a painting being left up to the interpretation of the viewer.
~Stef~
Hi Stefanie,
I found it interesting how the performer who told the last story was only revealed as being an animal after the story had been told. Would knowing that the performer was an animal rather than a human before the story was told have made me, other readers, and other listeners of this story, perceive it differently?
Thank you for your well-written and thought-provoking story!
Sincerely,
Amelia
Hi Amelia,
Thank you for pointing that out. While writing the story I actually intended it to be that only animals were putting up art pieces for this annual festival. It is great to hear that feedback so I know I was not completely clear and could potentially edit the way it is written or told next time!
~Stef~
Hi Stefanie,
Thanks for the interesting story. What caught my attention is the loss. One of which is of course, the arrival of evil. Would another be the loss of language between animal and humans?
I agree adults can be worse communicators. They can be less aware of non-verbal cues. And no, most of them will not entertain the idea of talking animals. Yes, when I wrote my story I constantly thought of the audience. I wanted to tell an “honest” story and then what’s made of it is out there, out of my control. My job as the writer is to present the characters with competency, and let them live in the minds of the listeners.
– John
Hi John,
Thank you for bringing up an interesting point. I wish I had noticed that while writing because I would have loved to put an emphasis on this theme. I also enjoy your concept of letting characters “live in the minds of the listeners” as that is a wonderful way of describing it.
~Stef~
Hi Stefanie,
I love how you emphasized that telling a story through your body as an artist and understanding someone’s desires through their body as a server helps us communicate our intentions in a clearer way. I work in the retail industry, and I agree that often it is what’s shown through non-verbal communication, that is more powerful than what is actually being said. So my question is, do you think a story that is told simply through voice with no body movements can be just as exciting as one that is told with both voice and body?
Cheers,
Sandra
Hi Stefanie!
I love your idea of putting animals and humans together in your story! I also agree on your view that adults tend not to believe stories featuring animals, especially the anthropomorphic ones. I think this may have relation to the style of story-telling as stories featuring animals are usually targeted for children. I wonder what would be your opinion on this issue. Besides, as a former stage performer, I can’t agree more on your point that body languages serve as a server in storytelling. I found that body-language would make the story more convincing that just putting it orally!
Cheers,
Christy
Hi Stefanie,
I quite liked that you incorporated both animals and humans into your retelling of your story. It addresses the issue that King spoke about, of a narrative that is not as hierarchical/human-centric.
I notice that I alter my sentence structures and vocabulary quite a bit depending on what I am writing for. My assignments are quite a bit more formal, but with blogging I aim for a more conversational tone. How did knowing that you were going to be telling this story to others change how you approached writing this story?
Thanks for sharing,
Julia
Hi Julie,
I found I tried to write somewhere in between formal and conversational for this particular post. I wanted it to be conversational enough to be telling the story to friends and family. However, as I am writing it for a class assignment, also a formality to it.
~Stef~
Hi Sandra and Christy,
Talking about body language and movement, Sandra has an awesome question. As a performer, I personally enjoy movement and find it more fun to have a story with movement. However, that isn’t your question and I think that through great text a story does not need movement to properly get the message across.
Also, I agree that animals featured in children stories gives them a more childish feel thus creating a boundary when telling an animal based story to adults.
~Stef~