Q&A with a Story Guru: Susan Luke, Part 4

See a photo of Susan, a link to her bio, Part 1 of this Q&A, Part 2, and Part 3.


Q&A with Susan Luke (Question 4):

Q:How important is it to you and your work to function within the framework of a particular definition of “story?” (i.e., What is a story?) What definition do you espouse?

A: In my opinion, there can never be just one definition of story. For every individual there are a myriad of stories they can share — each will be as different and unique as the person sharing them.

One of the beauties of story is this difference and the experience behind the stories that makes them live and breathe and have universal appeal.

In my experience, the greatest challenge to those of us who tell stories is to give our listeners enough time to not only enjoy and/or learn from the story, but to savor it, to connect it to their own experience.

If there are strict definitions and/or restrictions, the creative process is stifled and the opportunities to share stories in new and different ways/media will not happen.