Ten Shun!
On the first page of the first chapter of my novel ‘Rumours of a Hurricane’, I wrote this sentence ( which amounts to an authorial statement) :
‘The secret truth is this: that things change. That things are change.”
It was the opening of a story, but it might have been the opening of a book about story.
Here’s John Yorke, from ‘Into The Woods’:
‘Change is the bedrock of life and therefore the bedrock of narrative… All stories are roadmaps of change…All dramatic structure is built on the chassis of change’.
And David Corbett:
‘The key element of story, which is a dramatic form, is that something changes;’
So why are we so fascinated by change?
(And it is fascination. As Will Storr notes, ‘the image every TV director in fact or fiction looks for is the close up of the human face as it registers change’ )
David Corbett suggests an answer:
“Change remains one of the most baffling aspects of our existence. The mind so entranced by images and ideas and names, naturally seeks to anchor itself in some notion of solidity. But the stuff of life won’t hold still. Stories that capture this tension strike at a key truth of our existence.”
Change is not only fascinating.
It is what we need to prosper in life.
“Change is opportunity….Change is hope. Change is promise. It’s our winding path to a more successful tomorrow. “ Will Storr.
Unfortunately - given Will’s premise - humans are programmed to avoid change
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