Ficlets

Not related directly to Ficlets or writing, but it is about storytelling – more specifically, they manner in which we tell the stories of our own lives, and how that storytelling affects our view of ourself and the world: This Is Your Life (and How You Tell It):

in the past decade or so a handful of psychologists have argued that the quicksilver elements of personal narrative belong in any three-dimensional picture of personality. And a burst of new findings are now helping them make the case. Generous, civic-minded adults from diverse backgrounds tell life stories with very similar and telling features, studies find; so likewise do people who have overcome mental distress through psychotherapy.

Every American may be working on a screenplay, but we are also continually updating a treatment of our own life — and the way in which we visualize each scene not only shapes how we think about ourselves, but how we behave, new studies find. By better understanding how life stories are built, this work suggests, people may be able to alter their own narrative, in small ways and perhaps large ones.

“When we first started studying life stories, people thought it was just idle curiosity — stories, isn’t that cool?” said Dan P. McAdams, a professor of psychology at Northwestern and author of the 2006 book, “The Redemptive Self.” “Well, we find that these narratives guide behavior in every moment, and frame not only how we see the past but how we see ourselves in the future.”

As a writer, I think this makes perfect sense: How you view yourself in the story of your life matters – and so does how you construct the story of your life. If you think that you’re a character in a tragedy, guess what? You’re going to be. Likewise (generally speaking), if you work on the assumption you’re working toward a happy ending, you’re putting yourself in a mental position to find one.

Personally, I think I’m living in an absurd comedy. Makes life a lot more fun.