Into The Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them

You live the experience of the story vicariously through them:

Storytelling, then, can be seen as a codification of the method by which we learn – expressed in a three-act shape.

How they develop that knowledge forms the underlying subject matter of the second half of the film.

Unless they have a plausible story engine, a regular throughput of new and different characters, or stay stubbornly in two dimensions (thus removing themselves from the ravages of time), they will almost always die, spiritually if not physically, after an average of around three seasons. There’s a striking pattern to it: year one is initial enthusi

the underlying pattern of these plots – the ways in which an audience demands certain things – has an extraordinary uniformity.

why do all mavericks – prove so popular? Largely because that’s how many of us feel at times too.

the Winklevoss twins who invite Mark into their elite WASP world represent every single quality he himself lacks.

Love, home, belonging, friendship, survival and self-esteem recur continually because they’re the subjects that matter to us most.

question and answer, the root of all structure, is inherent in the crisis and climax of the act.

Like every other narrative Canada is built on the same bedrock: a protagonist is thrown into the woods to find his way home.