For the record, I define story very loosely and plan to let each of us define it for ourselves rather than impose one definition. In fact, maybe our first act together should be to share how we define it.

OK, I’ll go first (full disclosure—I am a word geek):

Story is “a narration of a happening.” I tweaked this language from the listing for the word story at etymonline.com. Apparently, this use of the word dates to the year 1200. I like it because it is simple and allows a lot of room for going in many different directions. Yet, the word “narration” feels rather writing-centered and that is not my intent. So, I dug further. Looking at the word history, which is related to story, I found the Greek historia which originally meant “a learning or knowing by inquiry.” I like the idea of story as being centered around inquiry and exploration. So here is my working definition:

Story is a learning or knowing by inquiry that is shared in any art form.

What’s your definition?

I am a teller of stories and therefore an optimist, a believer in the ethical bend of the human heart, a believer in the mind’s disgust with fraud and its appetite for truth, a believer in the ferocity of beauty.

TONI MORRISON