The History of Storytellers

The Power of Words

The roughly 6,500 languages in the world prove that our words hold tremendous importance and power.

Since the beginning of time, stories have helped humankind make sense of things such as nature, the four seasons, and the cycle of life. They can evoke emotions such as joy, fear, surprise, and sorrow. Our words can bring joy and entertain, share knowledge and beliefs, or obtain the things we need. Our tales can communicate larger concepts, things that are important or meaningful to us, and give us a sense of purpose. We can even use our stories as vessels to connect, relate, and build a sense of community.

That deep connection stems from relating to the point of the story.

Storytellers Throughout History

Even before we used the written word, our ancestors told stories as a device to preserve their history, entertain their spectators, explain natural phenomena, and build connection among their people.

Cavemen painted stories of danger, hunting for food, and survival. The people of ancient Greece told mythical lore to explain how the world came to be and provide moral lessons. Bards, griots, seanchaí, and the like shared tales through songs and poems to educate and preserve history. Today, people write about things they believe in, dream about, or hope will be relatable to others.

These are just a few examples of the countless storytellers and methods used throughout history, but in each case, the common goal was to nurture connection through a central point.

The Written Word

The development of the written word opened a whole new world of opportunity for storytellers. Millennia later, we still enjoy sharing stories—only now, we can share them with a much larger audience through the written word.

Every year, about 650 million printed books are sold! Each fiction book can sell anywhere from 500 to 500,000 copies in its lifetime. There’s no denying that people love to read a good book! And now that you know a little about the history of storytellers, you can understand why.

First-Ever List

The first-evers when it comes to the written word vary slightly, but are widely agreed to be the following (in chronological order):

• First Written Pictographs (circa 3400 BCE): Records and receipts were first written in pictographs on clay tablets
• First Written Syllables (circa 3200 BCE): Pictographs were broken down into symbols representing syllables
• First Written Hieroglyphs (circa 3000 BCE): Hieroglyphs representing consonants and logograms were created
• First Written Texts (circa 2600 BCE): Religious texts such as Kesh Temple Hymn and other records
• First Written Book (circa 2100 BCE): The Epic of Gilgamesh was carved into clay tablets during the time of ancient Mesopotamia.
• First Printed Book (868 CE): A Buddhist text called The Diamond Sutra
• First Written Novel (circa 1010 CE): Murasaki Shikibu’s The Tale of Genji (genre: considered to be a blend of romance, epic, and psychological narrative)
• First Written Sci-Fi Novel (1608 CE): Johannes Kepler’s Somnium
• First Written English Novel (1719 CE): Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (genre: adventure)
• First Written Romance Novel (1740 CE): Samuel Richardson’s Pamela: Or Virtue Rewarded
• First Written Horror Novel (1764 CE): Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto
• First Written Historical Novel (1814 CE): Sir Walter Scott’s Waverley
• First Written Fantasy Novel (1858 CE): George Macdonald’s Phantastes (although The Epic of Gilgamesh, mentioned above, is considered the true first written fantasy)
• First Written Mystery Novel (1859 CE): Wilkie Collins’s The Woman in White (Edgar Allan Poe is credited with writing the first-ever short mystery story, The Murders of the Rue Morgue, in 1841)
• First Written Thriller Novel (1903 CE): Erskine Childers’s The Riddle of the Sands

Talk about groundbreaking classics!

What’s Your Point?

Regardless of when they were written and whether it was on a clay tablet, parchment, or paper, every story has a central theme such as love conquers all, good triumphs over evil, it’s never too late, change is constant, death is inevitable, beauty is everywhere, knowledge is power, or overcoming adversity.

If the plot is what happens in the story, then the point is why it matters. The point is the underlying universal message the author conveys through their story, and this is what connects authors with their readers.

In Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, Jessica Brody explains that almost any point will be derived from one of ten universal lessons:

Learn more about this in my article titled Pairing Plot with Point.

Let’s Bring Your Words to Life!

I believe everyone has a story to tell, and every storyteller wishes to captivate their audience from start to finish. When you partner with an editor who truly gets your story and your unique authorial voice, you can transform your story into its most captivating version and continue the age-old tradition of nurturing a sense of community and belonging.

As the owner and book editor at Red Quill Editorial, I offer a variety of manuscript editing services to meet your needs, using an honest yet gentle approach. I am available every step of the way to answer your editing questions, help you perfect your writing craft, and celebrate your wins with you. I can also connect you with my colleagues in the publishing industry, including proofreaders, illustrators, cover designers, formatters, and more.

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Red Quill Editorial LLC