Why Stories Make Us Human and How to Tell them Better with Will Storr

Today, my guest is Will Storr. Will is an award-winning writer, teacher, and consultant. He’s the author of six critically acclaimed books, including the novels ‘The Hunger’ and ‘The Howling of Killian Lone’ and the Sunday Times bestseller ‘The Science of Storytelling.’ He joined us today to talk about his book, ‘The Science of Storytelling," which is based on research in psychology and neuroscience.

You cannot understand others unless you see things from their perspective. Good storytelling gives you much-needed character perspective and helps you understand what they are going through and why they are like that. Starting the conversation, we talk about how empathy could be created toward the character in the readers’ minds.

Will explains the reason for the readers to show empathy towards characters with flaws rather than perfect characters. They want a character who is learning from their mistakes and fighting for what they believe in.

This podcast episode is a must-listen for anyone seeking to understand the underlying psychology that drives compelling storytelling. 

[08.26] Storytelling – You have to get into their shoes to understand how they feel. Starting the conversation, Will shares how good storytelling can show the perspective of the characters.

[15.00] Living the experience – The ability to make the reader live through the experience is the superpower of good storytelling.

[25.47] The protagonist – Will explains the reason for readers to empathize with the protagonist in stories rather than repel them.

[33.45] Status – We talk about how cruel people are toward powerful business people, celebrities, politicians, royalty, etc.

[40.00] External and internal - In good storytelling, you can see how people change internally due to things that happen externally.

[45.05] Wants vs. needs - People want a million things, but what they really want are three things: survival, connection, and status.

[55.26] Human tribes - gossip controls human behavior within the human tribe.

[01.05.55] Being a hero - Being a hero means that when something terrible comes your way, you get through it and grow.

[01.11.38] Five-act structure - The five acts that show the full transformation of a character

Resources

Connect with Will

Website - http://willstorr.com/

LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/will-storr/ 

Twitter - twitter.com/wstorr 

Instagram - instagram.com/williamstorr/ 

Book by Will

The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human and How to Tell Them Better 

Book by Bill Drummond and Mark Manning

Bad Wisdom: The Lighthouse at the Top of the World