What’s a story?
Journalists call any article a “story,” and so in newspapers and magazines you’ll see how-to pieces and 10-tips-for-catching-a-man lists described as stories. But these are not, strictly speaking, stories in the sense that the Carnival of Money stories intends.
A story describes something that happened, an action. The action may be internal — a psychological event, for example — or it may be external, something that goes on between two or more people, or between one or more people and a force of nature. It usually involves some sort of conflict, which likewise may be psychological or physical. These principles apply to nonfiction as well as fiction stories.
One effective way to talk about story is to conceive it as a journey. Christopher Vogler described this line of thought in The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers and Screenwriters. Taking a Jungian tack, he explains how the most lasting and successful stories in every human culture can be seen in terms of journeys: from one place to another, from one social status to another, from predicament to resolution, from one state of mind to another. The story is probably our most powerful form of communication. Story allows us to transmit cultural values and personal truths in ways that engage and that are remembered. It leads each of us to think through those values and consider how they apply to our own lives and times.
Personal Finance Stories
Personal finance concepts and facts can be told in story form, too, with great profit. That’s why a story such as Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener” still speaks to us. A story need not be a piece of fiction: the structure of story also applies in nonfiction. What we’re looking for here is not a list or a how-to or a pointer to some handy new PF tool. It’s the tale, the struggle, the path to enlightenment-all classic elements of each individual’s personal finance journey.
Many submissions to this week’s carnival, though very good, were reports, how-to’s, pointers, or opinion pieces rather than stories in the desired sense. Below are the posts that actually fell under the heading of story. Editor’s Picks are marked with a red asterisk.
The Financial Journey
Dividends4Life
Dividends4Life
Progress Update: June 2008
* Benjamin
Trees Full of Money
The Story of My Day Trading Addiction
Nadeg
Fabulous Finances
The Actions I Took that Created My Financial Peak
* Silicon Valley Blogger
The Digerati Life
Making Money through Day Trading: The Secret Lives of Stay-at-Home Mommy Speculators
The Debt Defier
The Happy Rock
How Did This Happen? The Path Back into Financial Trouble
GBlogger
Can I Get Rich on a Salary?
Success Stories: Retired at Age 43 with nearly $2,000,000
Heather Allen
The Debt-Free Playbook Blog
Life’s More Than Debt
Todd
Harvesting Dollar
The Benefits of Working at a Fast-Food Restaurant
Passive Income Investor
Living off Dividends and Passive Income
Monthly Passive Income Finally Breaks the $3,000 Barrier!
Earning It
Mrs. Accountability
Out of Debt Again
Is It the Law of Attraction? Or Just Wishful Thinking?
Wanda Grindstaff
Creating Abundant Lifestyles
Retirement or Lifestyle-It Is Your Choice
* Amanda Milne
Value for Your Life
When Career Plans Change
Tiffanie
We Like Money
IRA’s: What’s the Deal
Spending It
* Jim
Blueprint for Financial Prosperity
Test-Drove the Toyota Prius
Dorian Wales
The Personal Financier
How Shopping for Groceries Online Can Save You Money As Well As Time
Kyle
Amateur Asset Allocator
My Personal Finance Confession
Single Guy Money
Single Guy Money
My Health Plan Costs Are About to Increase
The Way Things Are
FMF
Free Money Finance
The Other America
vh
Funny about Money
Good Ole’ Boys
Be This Way
Are You Going to Be This Way the Rest of the Time I Know You?
What You Can Expect from the New à la Carte Airlines
Ain’t It the Truth Department
* Finance Girl
Finance Gets Personal
For Me, Spending Leads to More Spending
Ray
Money Blue Book
My Not-So-Stimulating Economic Stimulus Payment Has Finally Arrived
Broke Grad Student
Broke Grad Student
6 Reasons Why I Hate Cash
Funny about Money has never regained the functionality lost in Apple’s much-ballyhooed migration from Mac.com to MobileMe. Consequently you can’t leave comments on this or any other post. I hope you enjoy the many excellent entries in this week’s carnival, and thank you all for participating.