Aug 20 2008
Writers. Storytellers. And Both.
I’ve been following an online writers’ forum that asks the question, “Are you a writer or a storyteller?”
It’s a good question, and one that everyone who writes should consider. The fact is, there are some wonderful writers out there and there are some wonderful storytellers. To have either talent in abundance places you in an elite club. But to have a high degree of both talents makes you a literary miracle.
I’ve recently read books by two contemporary authors: Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men, The Road, All the Pretty Horses, etc.) and Stephenie Meyer (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, etc.). Where do these eminently popular authors fall on the writer/storyteller continuum? I believe McCarthy is a better writer than storyteller, while Meyer is a better storyteller than writer. (Both, however, are very good at both, but exceptional at one, in my humble opinion.)
Many authors of the classics are high on both the writer and the storyteller scales: Charles Dickens, Joseph Conrad, Ernest Hemingway, Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters, Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, Leo Tolstoy … to name a few. These giants of literature could weave spellbinding stories. But they could also communicate them with writing that was nothing short of remarkable. That’s why their books are classics.
So what are you: a writer or a storyteller? Or are you both? And how high up the scale are you in each category? Assess your writing. Take an inventory of your talents. Identify where you fall short, then do what you have to do to push your natural talents higher through conscious effort. Even the classic writers had to work to augment the talents they were born with through conscious effort.
If you’re willing to do that, you may surprise yourself with the results.
I was always told I was a good story-teller. I could tell stories, make them alive with my voice, my body language, my expressions, the choice of my words. People were always entertained. I could make a simple incident appear an adventure.
As a child I used to be able to write them out too but I lost that ability after I was pushed into the cold, hard world of science & its reports, papers, journals. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve nothing against science but it took me 4 years of depression & chronic illness to finally come to the simple conclusion that perhaps it’s simply not for me.
Now I’m trying to write again, slowly, painfully. Journal writing first of all. Perhaps one day I’ll be able to write again too.
Love your blog & your posts. Thanks for them.