“The world wants stories, not one big one, but many small ones. Stories in which we recognise our own lives, narratives rooted in personal experience and a real, earthy, gritty, worlds; anecdotes and metaphors and illustrations that illuminate small-t truth, rather than lectures that demand allegiance to capital-t Truth.” (pp 177,179)

When I first read this I thought that the reason we like shorter stories is because we have a shorter attention spans. And the reason I thought we have shorter attention spans is because we have gotten used to fast pace media. Whereas this is partly true, it’s not entirely true. As human beings we naturally have a short attention span for the things that do not interest us. But get something that is relatable and we will be glued in a minute…take a long time to say it, we lose interest!

All of Jesus’ parables are straight and to the point. They were relatable, understandable, and entertaining. I love reading short stories. Occasionally I will go on line and search for short funny or inspiring stories. If it’s too long I won’t read it, not because I don’t have the time, but because I don’t need 2,000 words to send me a message, all I need it 200.

If you tell a long story you are placing more emphasis on your story-telling capabilities than on the story itself. People want short stories not long explanations!