A beginning, a middle, and an end is the proper way to tell a story.
But I have difficulty with that method.
-Jeanette Winterson, Lighthousekeeping
"Why can't you just tell me the story without starting another story?"
"Because there's no story that's the start of itself."
"That's another story yet," he said, "and if you tell yourself like a story, it doesn't seem so bad."
"...Tell me a story, and I won't be lonely."