benita hates talking to her aunt chloe if you can even call what they do talking mostly benita
listens aunt chloe has stories stories about her life stories about her childhood stories
about her marriage stories about her children sometimes about work she did sometimes about
people she knew other times about a trip she took always she ends with this phrase and that's why we
and you should too benito waits for that finishing remark so she can nod and agree it always comes
all she has to do was wait and when it does it punches her in the gut it doesn't allow
her to enjoy the story because in the end she knows that aunt chloe isn't telling a fun story
she's lecturing you could say that and chloe's stories are didactic
but is that not good why is it bad to tell didactic stories shouldn't you want your listeners
to leave with some wisdom like a nice souvenir that they could take with them into the future
telling didactic stories seem like giving your audience the most bang for their buck
the best use of their time there was a time long ago when didactic stories were popular
religious sermons ancient texts stories that teach ethics such as aesop's fables are examples of
didactic stories that have favorable reputations because they taught people how to be civil as they
learn to live with each other from the stories of christ to siddhata people have relied on didactic
stories to learn how to confront the obstacles of life and participate in a society of many
the word didactic itself comes from ancient greece which means relating to teaching education
and wisdom ancient greece of course being a key time and place for great philosophical teachers
and thinkers all telling didactic stories to get their ideas across the importance for the general
public to receive moral guidance couldn't be more important back then when communication
and entertainment were not as easily accessible as it is today yet and chloe had a story one that she
thought was worth telling should she not share her story the way she felt it should be told
what was benita's problem she should be appreciative of a free lesson from someone of
experience not that aunt chloe was christ or siddhartha but she certainly had a point of view
every storyteller has a perspective and it's from there that they decide which stories are
worth telling and which aren't obviously they want to tell a story that gives their audience
the most value but value is an interesting word often used to market something that is of quality
but is cheaply sold what didactic stories are are simple answers without understanding the
complexities of an audience member's life it aims to give directions and solutions as
though every problem or pursuit can be resolved by obediently following what the story has to offer
didactic stories make blunt assumptions just like what aunt chloe does when she sees benita
she assumes that she has the answers for her even though benita wasn't asking
didactic stories come across as preachy or belittling or having a hidden agenda
didactic stories are not open-ended they have a very clear conclusion instead of allowing the
audience to interpret what the story teaches a didactic one outright tells them what to know it
isn't that rushed method of communicating that the important lessons in the stories are actually lost
didactic stories end up being less effective in encouraging a certain behavior
as compared to telling a truly meaningful story with rich characters and an interesting plot
so what can we do how do we avoid telling stories like aunt chloe
first understand that having a story with a message is not a bad thing every story should
have a core theme worth sharing however one should avoid telling a story with the solitary goal
of convincing the audience of an idea or a way of life a good theme doesn't make a good story and a
good story doesn't need to do any convincing by taking the audience through an emotional journey
via the senses of the characters we can actually get them invested in the exploration of the theme
the audience will come to the conclusion on their own or have a thought that opposes the
meaning of the story either way the audience is empowered to form their own opinions
even when it's the storyteller that reaches the ending and the ending
certainly should not be how aunklee ends it and that is why we and you should too
secondly didactic stories often lack the complexities and characteristics of real life
events and that's why fairy tales which lessons of morals can come across as didactic are often
catered towards children as opposed to adults who understand that a little girl being eaten by
a wolf or pigs getting their houses blown down is just the beginning of the problem and not the end
didactic stories in order to keep their lessons clear leave out the messiness that is reality
and what happens then is something that is more cliche than convincing
lastly to avoid telling didactic stories we must understand that great stories don't have
easy answers great stories aren't recipes or instruction manuals great stories are a mirror
that forces us to confront the feelings inside ourselves great stories ask us what we think
about this or that but never telling us whether it's right or wrong for there are no right answers
every audience member should be able to bring their own history their own experiences their
own principles and values and use those as the instruments to come up with their own conclusions
therefore a story that avoids being labeled as didactic allows for wondering and contemplation
and that is why we shouldn't write didactic stories and you shouldn't either
had anyone ever said that your stories were didactic
let me know how you dealt with that in the comments below and if you're
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