Let’s Talk Story
Thinking about story openings, perfect first lines and narrative promises this week so let’s chat, this thread is open for discussion!
Nancy Kress says: “Every story makes a promise to the reader. Actually, two promises, one emotional and one intellectual, since the function of stories is to make us both feel and think.
The emotional promise goes: Read this and you’ll be entertained, or thrilled, or scared, or titillated, or saddened, or nostalgic, or uplifted—but always absorbed.
There are three versions of the intellectual promise. The story can promise (1) Read this and you’ll see this world from a different perspective; (2) Read this and you’ll have confirmed what you already want to believe about this world; or (3) Read this and you’ll learn of a different, more interesting world than this. The last promise, it should be noted, can exist on its own or coexist with either of the first two.”
As storytellers, are you concerned with making or fulfilling the promises you set out in your story? When are promises an issue? When are they a boon?
As readers, can promises telegraph too much? If they aren’t present or are subverted or unfulfilled, does that hurt your enjoyment of the story?