I, like most people, love a good story. Whether its told through a movie, a TV show, a play, or a book it doesn't really get much better the hearing a really great one. I'm also personally interested in the structure and construction of a story. Through my writing and my work in theater I, along with others, strive to tell a story in a compelling or affecting way. Many of my favorite stories have interesting or unusual structures. Frankenstein, Arcadia, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Lost. Part of what I love about them are those structures, but it is not only that. They are the stories that make you care. You care about the characters; about what happens in the end. There are a lot of things that go into telling a good story, and it's not an exact science.
In Andrew Stanton's words, "We all love stories. We're born for them. Stories affirm who we are. We all want affirmations that our lives have meaning, and nothing does a greater affirmation than when we connect through stories. It can cross the barriers of time; past, present, and future; and allow us to experience the similarities between ourselves and through others, real and imagined "
So take a look below at his speech, where he explores why to him storytelling is important, in his experience what goes into telling a good one and just what it is about good storytelling that we love so much.
