ABSTRACT
Introduction Although evidence of human ability to tell stories is as ancient as the earliest paintings on cave walls, it is less clear why we do so. Is there a primal drive that prompts us to express feelings and events in writing, or do we merely strive to create an ongoing historical record of the species? Do poems, letters, journal entries, screenplays, memoirs, essays, blogs, and stories all tap into the same domain, or do different motives inspire each?
