March 10, 2022
I’m Bob, and I’m a storyholic. It’s true, and I’ll bet you’re one, too. It’s an addiction that most of us share, no matter what our other qualities or affiliations might be. We like a good story…and we love a great one. Few things are better in this life than reading, hearing, or viewing such a story, the kind that sweeps us away and makes us forget everything else. Even writers are susceptible to this addiction, though we as a group tend to focus on storytelling mechanics, structure, and techniques. When someone tells us an awesome story, it reels us in, and we focus on enjoying it instead of studying its idiosyncracies.
I’ve thought about this lately as I’ve lost myself in one wonderful story after another, whether it’s in prose, audio, graphic novel, or video form. I’ll start reading, listening, or watching, paying attention to how the thing is built at first…and then I’ll get caught up in it, oblivious to all concerns other than where it’s taking me. “What happens next?” is the only question that seems to matter when you’re in the midst of a great piece of fiction…at least until the end, when you shout, “What do you mean, it’s over?”
The mere anticipation of (hopefully) great storytelling is enough to get us excited sometimes. If a trailer video is good enough, it makes us want to see a movie or TV show so much, it almost hurts. A great book blurb or excerpt can give us just as much of a charge, motivating us so powerfully that we can’t get the finished story in our hands soon enough! Sometimes, even without any blurb or excerpt or even a strong indication of when a book will be published, we’re dying to get it. (Case in point, The Winds of Winter.) Now that is the mark of a great story and an expert storyteller–when we want the next chapter of their work that much, though we have no idea when it will arrive or even what will go into it.
The best thing about this addiction, though, is that we all share it. We can’t help ourselves. It’s something we have in common, something that unifies us in spite of our differences, just as it always has. Because of that, I’d say it’s the sweetest addiction there is…and I, as a writer, am proud to encourage as many of you as possible to get more and more hooked on it all the time.
