##“stories vary radically according to social and geographical contexts and are fraught with tensions and contradictions. Understanding context is, therefore, key and is central to the work being reported on here.” (Reid et al., 2023)
What is a story? And what type of story are you interested in?
Place-based stories can take many different forms. These may include:
- Myths, Legends and Folklore
- Contemporary and historic stories
- Personal stories and anecdotes
- Songs
- Jokes, riddles, proverbs and sayings
They can also be presented in many ways including written, audio, visual and spoken forms, and may be published (known) stories or unknown stories that arise through conversation and investigation.
Before embarking on a place-based storytelling project, you should consider what type of stories you are (a) interested in (b) have access to and (c) fit the scope and potential of your planned collection. This will help you to decide on what is most relevant for you and where to start the collection process.
#**Case studies – different types of stories from our projects
Where will you find stories?
Stories can be found in a multitude of contexts and be inspired by the different objects, people, landscapes and histories of a place. Additionally, stories can be represented and told in different ways. They may be spoken through word of mouth, presented in the media, written in archives, woven into artwork, or appear in formal contexts such as events and guided walks.
Questions to answer:
- What objects, people, landscapes or histories are relevant for your project?
- Where can you source stories from? And how easy will it be to access these sources?
Further reading
What is a good story? What is a good story for you?
In general, a good story is difficult to define. However, it can perhaps be one which engages an audience for whatever reason. It might be in terms of the facts it conveys; the way it is told; the revelations and insights it provides to inform our contemporary thinking or imagination about current issues, questions, problems, or interest; the lessons it affords us about behaviours, motivations, impacts, and consequences.
When thinking about place-based stories, good storytelling often involves three main principles: people, place and perception. In this context, the people element relates to the people who feature in the story, directly or indirectly, those who tell the story and those who listen. Place means the physical space where the story takes place or is relevant to (such as landscape or built environment), and perception being the intangible visceral element, that is often present between people and their place. It is in the intersection of these three elements a good story is shaped.
Case study: Cabrach
#A diagram of a core narrative
What makes a 'good' story?
A good story will also differ for each project and depend on factors such as its intended output, audience, desired impact and purpose.
#Questions to answer
- What is the purpose of collecting stories?
- Who do you want to engage with these stories?
- And what is the intended output?
Type, Scope and Content
The type of story, its scope and content may affect how the story is curated and created into something meaningful at the end of the process. To understand what a good story is for you, you may want to consider a few questions.
#Questions to answer
- Is the story long or short?
- Is it dark, serious, funny, emotional etc?
- Is it fictional or factual?
- Is it contemporary or historic?
- Does it involve people, landscape, animals, mystical elements, children etc?
- Does it have a meaning?
- Does it address or highlight any important issues?
- Are these attributes appropriate for the purpose of your story collection?
- What changes might be needed to suit your purpose?