Spoken Stories
For World Storytelling Day, share the best story you’ve ever heard or told by word of mouth, or have a fictional character recount their favorite story.
Today (March 20) is World Storytelling Day, a celebration of the art of oral storytelling. Stories have existed long before recorded human history, and in many cases, we would have no record of history prior to the written word if not for the tradition of passing along verbal tales from generation to generation. For example, Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and Aesop's fables were first shared by word of mouth and were only recorded long after the stories were first imagined. The same is true of many religious texts.
Stephen Hawking, who passed away last week—and a man who, robbed of his voice, found a way to keep sharing his wisdom, said it well:
Writing Prompt: For World Storytelling Day, share the best story you've ever heard or told by word of mouth, or have a fictional character recount their favorite story.
Post your response in the comments in 500 words or fewer.
Jess Zafarris is the Executive Director of Marketing & Communications for Gotham Ghostwriters and the former Digital Content Director for Writer’s Digest. Her eight years of experience in digital and print content direction include such roles as editor-in-chief of HOW Design magazine and online content director of HOW and PRINT magazine, as well as writing for the Denver Business Journal, ABC News, and the Memphis Commercial Appeal. She spends much of her spare time researching curious word histories and writing about them at UselessEtymology.com. Follow her at @jesszafarris or @uselessety on Twitter.
