Stories not only give us a much needed practice on figuring out what makes people tick, they give us insight into how we tick.
MYTH: Beautiful Writing Trumps All REALITY: Storytelling Trumps Beautiful Writing, Every Time
You cherry-pick events that are relevant to the story question and construct a gauntlet of challenge (read: the plot) that will force the protagonist to put his money where his mouth is. Think baptism by ever-escalating fire.
...what draws us into a story and keeps us there is the firing of our dopamine neurons, signaling that intriguing information is on the way.
If I ask you to think about something, you can decide not to. But if I make you feel something? Now I have your attention.
