Readers Want A Story

How many times have you heard a reader say that they only like fiction, never read nonfiction? I've heard that often and I'm guessing you have, as well. Fiction is probably more popular because it does tell a story. It's the story, with a beginning, middle and end, that entertains us. It's that story that carries us away from our routine lives to other places. It's that story that keeps us wanting to read. 

Let's step back and look at nonfiction that also tells a story. Creative nonfiction does exactly that. The personal essay is a story but it also actually happened. No writer made it up. Some of the stories we read in personal essays and memoirs are fascinating, as are those told in biographies. The stories in the personal essay are used to make a point, and that's just fine. The 'story' will drive home the point.

Even narrative poems tell a story, although they can take the fiction or nonfiction route. Whichever way the poet wants to go. 

Even journalists who write for newspapers can weave a story into their factual reports. When they do that, they put themselves in the journalism awards category. Sports writers report on a game, play by play, but they often come up with fascinating stories about the athletes who are competing. Sports fans want to know all those stats but they also like learning about the individual players. They want to know the stories behind the men or women. 

Historians write to teach us about what happened long ago, to leave us a record. They also tell us stories about famous people who lived long ago. How would we know the 'story' about Cleopatra, Nero, Noah, Napoleon or Catherine the Great without those historians who brought the story to us? 

The quote above mentions using words we string together to make logical sentences. That's no small feat in itself if you want to make those sentences worth reading. But, it's a sure bet that if there is a story to be told, the reader will respond in a more positive way. 

In ancient days, the storytellers were revered for what they brought to their people verbally, before the advent of paper and pen and written words.  Now, writers create stories in both fiction and nonfiction categories for readers. 

We humans are a curious lot. We want to know what happens when boy meets girl. We care about the adventurer who defies fate time and again. We love whodunit stories so we can try to figure out who the killer is. We relish the rags to riches stories brought to us by romance writers.

Would you rather write a story with a beginning, a middle and an end than merely using pretty words strung together to make a sensible sentence? I know I would.