Story-telling

“What a story is ‘about’ is to be found in the curiosity it creates in us, which is a form of caring.” George Saunders...A swim in the pond in the rain

A story is a linear temporal phenomenon. It proceeds and charms us (or doesn't) , one at a time.

A story is a system for the transfer of energy. Energy, hopefully, gets made in the early pages and the trick in later pages is to use that energy. 

The true beauty of a story is not in its apparent conclusion, but in the alteration in the mind of the reader that has occurred along the way.

A story is a series of incremental pulses: each of which does something to us: and puts us in a new place, relative to where we were. The story should always be escalating; Escalating means refusing to repeat the beat. fundamental change in character's condition - we don't get to exact that change again.

There should be a rhythm to the story: one beat leading to the next! 

-Maria Popova