I am not a storyteller

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I am notoriously awful at many, many things. Driving, for one. I like to give the curb a little kiss every now and then. Texting is another. Everyone knows that I will get back to them in five to seven business days. But I think my number one weakness, by far, is storytelling, the act of telling a series of events in chronological order.

After high school, I became hyper aware of this. Whether it was catching up with old friends on current happenings, or trying to tell new friends a funny anecdote, I found that I was struggling. I don't know how to set the scene, build suspense, and include critical information. I either take forever to get to the point or get there way too soon.

I was talking to a friend, and he asked me what I thought understanding looked like. For him, he knew he fully understood something if he is able to tell a story about it. This made sense. he is one of the best storytellers I know, but I was curious. How did he understand stories then? He simply answered that stories were an indivisible unit.

MatPat (THE Matthew Patrick from Game Theory) recently visited UIC to give a talk on his career. He said that videos where he played or discussed story-based games did the best. They had more views, more retention, and were more memorable. This is why the complicated lore of Five Nights at Freddy's helped propel the series.

Last year, I read Jami Nakamura's The Night Parade. In this memoir, she explores how story structure differs between different cultures. We are all familiar with the three-act structure in Western culture, one with a beginning, middle, and end, but Nakamura tries to emulate the Japanese kishotenketsu. Four acts, no climax, no conflict. It often leads to introspection instead of catharsis.

Sputnik Sweetheart ♡