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Why Every Aspiring Author Will Benefit From Reading Jonathan Gotchalls’ Storytelling Animal

Jonathan Gotchall’s Storytelling Animal is a must-read for authors whether you are new to storytelling or well-practiced at the art. 

Gottschall is an American literary scholar in literature and evolution – which I think is an amazing marriage of ideas right there.

The Storytelling Animal is a well-researched book with many examples, anecdotes, and of course, stories. 

The book came out in 2012, and I am sure there is new research to further the ideas presented. Still, it continues to be an excellent read for new and veteran authors alike. 

If you would prefer a summary, head over to Why Authors Need to Tell Stories.

Who should read The Storytelling Animal? 

Any author who wants to enthrall readers or get more readers will benefit from this book. It will help you understand why you should up your storytelling skills. And give you hints on how to do that.

Why Is Storytelling important?

Authors should be compelling storytellers. People want stories – even in their nonfiction books. Storytellers are architects, building places for other people to visit. If you want to be a nonfiction author, become a skilled storyteller. 

What Questions Does Gottschall Raise?

As Gottschall points out, stories fit into every aspect of our lives, from work to socializing to dreams, music and books. Gottschall poses the question, “Why are stories central to the human experience?“ He then goes about unravelling stories from child’s play to dreams, to how stories have shaped history. Gottschall questions whether stories are a biological necessity or a happy accident. He tries to figure out what purpose stories serve in the grand scheme of things. And how stories fit into our human experience. He also ties this into authors and what this means for our work.

General Impressions about Storytelling Animal

This book is full of stories! Yay! Gottschall tells some of his own and some from history, myth, pop culture and more. You will be familiar with the stories he tells (or at least some of them).  Even though Jonathan Gotchall is a scholar himself, he has researched various other scholars and sites as well. I like that he poses possibilities without dictating answers. He leads or guides his readers to conclusions, just like a storyteller should.

Should I treat this book like an Instruction Manual?

If you are looking for an instructional manual, this isn’t it. Gottschall gives suggestions at the end of the book based on the research, but they aren’t about telling stories. They are more about living with story and letting story live with us. 

How Does Reading Storytelling Animal help authors?

The Storytelling Animal will help you understand why storytelling is so important, and although it is not an instructional book, it leads by example. First off, the book is well structured so there is much to learn from that. And like a superb storyteller, Jonathan Gottschall knows how to pull on our emotions, tugging us this way and that according to his own agenda. 

Do I Recommend Every Author Read This Book? 

Yes! Grab your copy using one of the links below.

Become a skilled storyteller and you will become a stronger writer.

– Keep writing

Melody Ann

 

Author Nation is your go-to resource for becoming a successful nonfiction author, from planning to promotion and everything in between. Download the resource for the stage you are in.

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