The Ethics of Storytelling
Oct. 12th, 2005 03:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
forsyth"So, then the guards started chasing me..."
"All your stories start like that," Erin said, "Makes it sound like you're incompetent."
"It's more exciting that way," I said, "People like chases. Nobody'd want to hear about something where everything went right."
"Why not?"
"Well," I said, "It'd be boring. And take like six sentences. I snuck in. I got the loot. I got out. Nobody noticed. Four sentences."
"C'mon, that's cheating. You left out all the details."
"So? Besides, if I told all about the stuff that worked, then everybody'd know how I did it. Then they'd go do it."
"All your stories start like that," Erin said, "Makes it sound like you're incompetent."
"It's more exciting that way," I said, "People like chases. Nobody'd want to hear about something where everything went right."
"Why not?"
"Well," I said, "It'd be boring. And take like six sentences. I snuck in. I got the loot. I got out. Nobody noticed. Four sentences."
"C'mon, that's cheating. You left out all the details."
"So? Besides, if I told all about the stuff that worked, then everybody'd know how I did it. Then they'd go do it."
