The process of communication requires at least two parties: the originator and the recipient. For communication to take place, the originator must be aware of the information or feelings he wishes to relay. The recipient must be able to receive and decipher that meaning.

Similarly, storytelling requires an author and an audience. And, to tell a story, one must have a story to tell. Only when an author is aware of the message he wishes to pass on can he decide how to couch that message for accurate reception.

An audience is more than a passive participant in the storytelling process. When we write the phrase, "It was a dark and stormy night," we communicate a message, although a vague one. Besides the words, another force is at work creating meaning in the reader's mind. The readers themselves may have conjured up memories of fragrant fresh rain on dry straw. They may recall the trembling fear of blinding explosions of lightning, or a feeling of contentment that recalls a soft fur rug in front of a raging fire. But all we wrote was, "It was a dark and stormy night." We mentioned nothing in that phrase of straw or lightning or fireside memories. In fact, once the mood is set, the less said, the more the audience can imagine. Did the audience imagine what we, the authors, had in mind? Not likely. Did we communicate? Some. We communicated the idea of a dark and stormy night. The audience, however, did much creating on its own. Did we tell a story? Definitely not!