A couple of entries ago, I noted that the Flash movie promoting the new book, The Jackrabbit Factor told a nice story. To my surprise, the book itself is told in story. It’s much more common to see books with an inspirational, self-help message told in a didactic way than in story. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past year or so of studying storytelling, it is that story touches our emotions and helps us remember.
I asked the author, Leslie Householder, how she happened to choose story to get her message across. Here, in part, is what she said:
I … knew that in order for a person to really change, they needed to
experience a journey similar to mine. The book would have to reach into
the deepest corners of their soul and connect with their emotional side.
It would also need to lead them to a higher awareness of basic fundamental
life-principles that they may not have ever known existed. This is the
kind of knowledge that changes lives permanently.
A story was the best way to help a person to discover these things. Let
them discover it alongside of the hero. Let them get lost in the story so
they don’t have to force their mind to wrap itself around new concepts.
Let them relax and enjoy the journey to discovery.
It isn’t always easy to relax and enjoy a ‘how-to’ book, especially if the
reader isn’t hungry for the knowledge. But a story? Anyone can enjoy a
story. If they are seeking answers, they’ll find them contained within
its pages. If they are not seeking answers, they can still enjoy the
story. In fact, a person will be able to read it again at a different
place in their life and learn something entirely new which was there all
along, but had been hidden to their view (because for whatever reason,
they were not yet ready to grasp it).