Until about 100 years ago no person could ever tell another person the same story. The very best any author could do was to convince readers to tell stories to themselves.
Complete this short exercise and you will see how it works:
A cowboy is on the open range riding a horse. Suddenly, the horse sees a snake. The horse jumps and the rider is thrown off the horse.
Here are a few questions for you:
In what direction was the horse riding?
What time of the day was it?
In what location did this occur?
What color and kind of a horse was the rider on?
Was the rider wearing a hat?
Your imagination conjured up the scene. You certainly did not read the scenario asked by these questions. And that is the point. Before motion pictures, no one could see the exact same story, the same visuals. Authors wrote for the mind. Novels in particular are elaborate scenarios in which each of us creates a moving picture.
The point here for teachers to is create pictures in the mind of students so that young people will do what you would like them to—rather than creating visions of what you do not want. The brain thinks in pictures and great teachers capitalize on this.
