The stickiness of "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

In “A Walk in the Woods” by Bill Bryson, I related to his story of feeling scared while camping. I was also camping, but I was only 10 years old. We had hear a startling noise in the bushes and immediately like Bill, I thought bear. As it turned out it was a bunny and I had nothing to be afraid about. Bill’s story reminded me exactly of my experience. The emotions that were pictured in the scene were a vivid representation of how I had felt in a similar experience. Bill Bryson did a fantastic job of making me feel as though I had gone back and experienced the situation I was in again. This is what made this story stick for me. Bill was able to tell a story that is very relatable to a lot of people (especially in Minnesota). Many people can write a relatable story but the key element to making this story stick for me was his vivid representation of what it feels like to be in the story. I think that one additional aspect of stickiness which is kind of covered through all of the rules is that you must be able to make the reader feel as though they are in the story themselves. I feel like the rules in stickiness are what can make someone feel like they’re in the story. The first principle of stickiness is simplicity. A simple story makes it easy for any reader to imagine the full story and be able to relate to it. Without this aspect the reader would never feel like they’re in the story because they can not even imagine the story. Unexpectedness, the second principle, helps readers to feel like they are going through a real life problem and that they actually do not know what will happen next. This helps a reader to feel like they are in the story because all of life is unexpected we never know what will happen at any second. The third principle concreteness helps the reader to have a vivid representation of the story. Bill did this by setting up the situation and describing the darkness of the camp and the ruffles in the bushes. It helps the reader paint a picture in their head. A story must have credibility for a reader to feel as part of the story. A reader will not feel like part of the story if they do not believe that the stories they are hearing would not happen. Even a fantasy story can make you feel like the events could happen and make you wish they would. Bill does a great job with this by telling a story that a lot of people can relate to. This makes the story credible because other people like myself have gone through similar events. Emotions play a vital role of making a reader feel as part of the story. The emotions in the book trigger similar emotions in the reader, which helps them to be enthralled by the story. Bill did this by envoking fear in his readers not knowing what will happen with the eyes in the woods and explaining the fear he had felt in this situation. The last principle of stories helps people to remember the story and make it stick. Stories have common themes and similar pathways. This helps familiarize the reader with the story and make it stick. The principles of stickiness are exemplorized in Bill Bryson’s “A Walk in The Woods”. These principals of stickiness are mandatory because they help a reader feel as though they are part of the story they are hearing. This creates a great story.