TY - BOOK AU - Storr,Will TI - The science of storytelling: why stories make us human and how to tell them better SN - 9781419743030 PY - 2020/// CY - New York PB - Abrams Press KW - Storytelling KW - Interpersonal communication KW - Authorship KW - Fiction KW - Technique KW - Narration (Rhetoric) KW - Psychological aspects KW - Instructional and educational works KW - lcgft KW - Creative nonfiction N1 - "First published in 2019 in Great Britain by William Collins"--Title page verso; Subtitle from cover; Includes bibliographical references and index; Creating a world -- The flawed self -- The dramatic question -- Plots, endings, and meaning -- Appendix: the sacred flaw approach N2 - Who would we be without stories? Stories mold who we are, from our character to our cultural identity. They drive us to act out our dreams and ambitions, and shape our politics and beliefs. We use them to construct our relationships, to keep order in our law courts, to interpret events in our newspapers and social media. Storytelling is an essential part of what makes us human. There have been many attempts to understand what makes a good story from Joseph Campbell's well-worn theories about myth and archetype to recent attempts to crack the 'Bestseller Code'. But few have used a scientific approach. This is curious, for if we are to truly understand storytelling in its grandest sense, we must first come to understand the ultimate storyteller the human brain. In this scalpel-sharp, thought-provoking book, Will Storr demonstrates how master storytellers manipulate and compel us, leading us on a journey from the Hebrew scriptures to Mr Men, from Booker Prize-winning literature to box set TV. Applying dazzling psychological research and cutting-edge neuroscience to the foundations of our myths and archetypes, he shows how we can use these tools to tell better stories - and make sense of our chaotic modern world ER -