The Danger of a Single Story

I am always impressed by TED talks.  If you haven't previously heard about them, this is who they are, taken directly from their website.

"TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader." 

Their video talks are always thought inspiring, sometimes hilarious, and occasionally nothing short of awe inspiring.

Here, Chimamanda NgoziAdichie, a novelist born in Nigeria talks about her experiences as a writer, and how she has faced the world's narrow view of Africa, and how that often singular perspective can mould the impression of a whole country. 

For me, this video speaks not only on the wider level about humanity and the world in which we all live, but specifically as a writer.  The importance of building reality, not just fiction in our novels.  The complexity of the world that we create is paramount to it being believable, and the different layers of a character help develop not just names and characteristics, but people who come alive and leap from the page. 

This talk is quite long, but if you have time it is worth it.