Storyteller v Writer

CJWilkes · Jun 24, 2005

I heard that there are Storytellers and Writers. I have come to understand that I am a storyteller and have some excellent Outlines for stories... but that with practice I can become a great writer.

Just wanted to see what you picture yourself as... Which do you feel is your stronger point?

sassandgroove · Jun 24, 2005

Would you tell this to my husband, please? I know he could be a great writer, for I love his stories, but when I tell him so, he says "I'm not a writer." *sigh*

Dewayne · Jun 24, 2005

I am most definitely a storyteller. Got it from my grandfather, to be honest with you. He was the grandson of another storyteller, or so I have heard, and passed it along to me. I suppose, considering he had no money for me to inherit, the gift of storytelling was the greatest gift of all. Thanks, Grandpa! Never will a day pass that you won't live on in my thoughts and stories.

Niapri · Jun 24, 2005

I'm a storyteller first, writer second. I've always told stories, but I've worked my rear off to improve my writing. The stories came naturally, the writing didn't, but I've gained a love for both.

Mistook · Jun 24, 2005

I think of a story "teller" as a charismatic person verbally relating a tall tale with colorful words and gestures to a group of eager ears around a camp fire. I'm definitely not that. That's a gift I surely do not possess.

When pressed to tell live stories to an audience, I shrivel, and stutter, and rub my nose nervously. I look like a big geek. I flounder for the right words. Everybody loses interest before I'm anywhere near making the point. I'm a horrible, horrible storyteller.

But I love stories, and I have stories, which is why I've become a writer. I can sit back in my fortress of solitude and carefully carve out a good story, even if it takes years.

My father, and my brother on the other hand, are great tellers. At family gatherings, we could sit and listen to them for hours, but neither of them has ever bothered to write, and if you ask them, they'll tell you that they can't.

aruna · Jun 24, 2005

Mistook said:
I think of a story "teller" as a charismatic person verbally relating a tall tale with colorful words and gestures to a group of eager ears around a camp fire. I'm definitely not that. That's a gift I surely do not possess.

When pressed to tell live stories to an audience, I shrivel, and stutter, and rub my nose nervously. I look like a big geek. I flounder for the right words. Everybody loses interest before I'm anywhere near making the point. I'm a horrible, horrible storyteller.

But I love stories, and I have stories, which is why I've become a writer. I can sit back in my fortress of solitude and carefully carve out a good story, even if it takes years.

My father, and my brother on the other hand, are great tellers. At family gatherings, we could sit and listen to them for hours, but neither of them has ever bothered to write, and if you ask them, they'll tell you that they can't.

Mistook, I could repeat everything you said word for word, almost! I can't "tell" a story to save my life; but I do "have" stories and writing comes easy to me. Yet writing seems somehow inadequate... I "see" everything so clearly it is frustrating that words cannever really bring across what I want to say. I could imagine making long epic movies of my stories, but that's also inadequate because movies don't get inside a character.
What am I to do????

We had a similar thread recently, here.

Mistook · Jun 25, 2005

aruna said:
Mistook, I could repeat everything you said word for word, almost! I can't "tell" a story to save my life; but I do "have" stories and writing comes easy to me. Yet writing seems somehow inadequate... I "see" everything so clearly it is frustrating that words cannever really bring across what I want to say. I could imagine making long epic movies of my stories, but that's also inadequate because movies don't get inside a character.
What am I to do????

We had a similar thread recently, here.

I know what you mean. Thanks to TV, Cinema, and Photoshop, we're a very visual generation. I often "see" sophisticated scenes that become very problematic in print. Physical gestures, and tone of voice can compenstate pretty well, but in print (again) it's a big challenge.

What you say about movies being inadequate is also true. The one thing a novel can do better than any other medium is put you inside a character's mind. Novels allow more intimacy than any other form.

I think the solution (at least for genre fiction) is that a written novel really does play a movie in the reader's head. This was taken for granted back in the olden days, but it's important to embrace that power. Books are alluring because (at their best) they induce a kind of trance over the imagination. It can be much better than a movie because the reader him/herself has control of the cinemetography, costume design, etc, etc. And the novel allows for much longer stories than a film can sustain.

So I guess the key is capturing the visuals and emotions somehow in print. You want to use a currency that readers can recognize, but you want that currency to outlive the fashion of the moment. It's a trick! It really is a gamble.

Jamesaritchie · Jun 25, 2005

Storyteller

I think all good writers are storytellers first and foremost. This doesn't mean you have to be able to tell a story to a live audience, but it does mean that being able to tell one in print is far more important than how you write.

Writing, if you want people to enjoy it, is telling a story, just as surely as if your audience is sitting right across the kitchen table from you, cup of coffee in hand, eyes wide, hanging onto every word you say.

The only differnces between oral storytelling and written storytelling is that yuo don't get to use hand gestures/body language, and you get taken off the hook becuase it's the narrator telling the tale.

But in the end, it's the same thing. Very few want to read writing. Books capture people because they want to be told a story.

Nateskate · Jun 25, 2005

I'd say I'm a storyteller first. Sometimes I think ideas come easy to me. However, grammar does not. When my kids were small, I would come up with bedtime stories off the top of my head, and they loved them.

It would be so easy to envy some of the others here who are grammatical giants, and prosologists. I think I write "good prose", but I have to think it out, and work it. It doesn't just flow.

azbikergirl · Jun 25, 2005

I'm most definitely a writer first. A friend asked me to tell her one of my stories over dinner. I found it incredibly hard to verbally portray the story in an interesting way. But she (and other friends) love me to email them my written stories.

pixiejuice · Jun 25, 2005

I can't tell a story, vocally, to save my life. Or a joke either. I always end up leaving out a part, stumbling around, going back, whatever. I'm a clutz. Thank God for the written word.

Do any of you other writers have trouble telling a story out loud?

Kiva Wolfe · Jun 25, 2005

It reminds me of the chicken and the egg dilemma, over which came first. Going back to my Ancient Civilization class, I believe human history officially became an item when storytelling took on the written form. I cannot seem to separate storytelling from writing as one is so reliant on the other. Storytellers have theatrical and creative ability, writers the patience and technical prowess to make it immortal. It is when the two merge that literary genius happens, and to me, some of the greatest authors of our time have been both.

pixiejuice said:
I can't tell a story, vocally, to save my life. Or a joke either. I always end up leaving out a part, stumbling around, going back, whatever. I'm a clutz. Thank God for the written word.

Do any of you other writers have trouble telling a story out loud?

Sure, Pixie, I get stage fright. If only I had signed up for Improv Acting 101 in college! LOL. There's an actor by the name of David Prete who holds workshops around the country to help authors who "want to wow audiences with the spoken word." Here's his link: http://davidprete.com/

moblues · Jun 25, 2005

Storyteller

I've always felt that telling a good story served a greater purpose than propping prose. What I mean by this is fairly simple:

1. Do you you wish to engage the reader and entertain them?

OR

2. Do you wish to flout your writing prowess at the expense of a good story?

While I do realise that attaining both is possible, it is highly unlikely for us mere mortals.

Just my two cents. Sorry, that's all I can afford.

Write On

Mike

aruna · Jun 25, 2005

pixiejuice said:
I can't tell a story, vocally, to save my life. Or a joke either. I always end up leaving out a part, stumbling around, going back, whatever. I'm a clutz. Thank God for the written word.

Do any of you other writers have trouble telling a story out loud?

Yes. That's me all over. I've always been very shy, and speaking out loud to others has always been a nightmare. Any story or joke I tell becomes a disaster; and I am sure that anyone who hears me speak would be put off forever from reading a book of mine! Writing has always been my favourite mode of communication. But I am frustrated by the inadequacy of words to tell a story as exactly as it appears in my mind. I can only hope that the words possess some magic power, to create the images necessary onthe reader's mind.

aruna · Jun 25, 2005

moblues said:
Storyteller

I've always felt that telling a good story served a greater purpose than propping prose. What I mean by this is fairly simple:

1. Do you you wish to engage the reader and entertain them?

OR

2. Do you wish to flout your writing prowess at the expense of a good story?

While I do realise that attaining both is possible, it is highly unlikely for us mere mortals.

Write On

Mike

I agree; but I believe the natural storyteller has more options. I find that once we have writtenour story, and it comes out in good enough prose, we leave it at that. Publishers are delighted that they have a good story; they ask for no more, and neither do we. They (and we) haev deadlines tromeet. We are hurried into delivering our work.

I believe that if we worked harder at it, we could polish our stories to make the writing live up to the story, and the stpry even better and clearer for our readers.

Literary writers today seem indeed to do no more than flaunt their writing prowess; but how often, when reading such work, I am bored stiff and ask myself, but where;s the STORY? I believe storytelling is a gift that cannot be taught if it doesn't come naturally; whereas writing craft CAN be learned.

A good storyteller who is a clumsy writer can, with time and practice, become a good writer if she fine tunes her ear for language, rythym and so on. But to have a beautiful story drop into your heart from nowhere - who can make that happen?

So, given the choice, I'd rather be a stryteller.

azbikergirl · Jun 25, 2005

aruna said:
Yes. That's me all over. I've always been very shy, and speaking out loud to others has always been a nightmare. Any story or joke I tell becomes a disaster; and I am sure that anyone who hears me speak would be put off forever from reading a book of mine! Writing has always been my favourite mode of communication. But I am frustrated by the inadequacy of words to tell a story as exactly as it appears in my mind. I can only hope that the words possess some magic power, to create the images necessary onthe reader's mind.

This is what I think of as "being a writer first."

moblues said:
Do you wish to flout your writing prowess at the expense of a good story?

Flout? Did you really mean to ask if I 'treat my own writing prowess with contempt at the expense of a good story?' Perhaps you meant 'tout' or 'show off' instead.

A few of these posts seem to condemn people who are stronger at writing than verbalizing their stories. Or maybe I misunderstand the definition of storytelling -- I think of it as a verbal art. Even though I'm far, far more comfortable relating stories in written form, my prose style is simple -- far from being 'literary' by any stretch of the imagination. (And certainly not worth 'showing off!')

moblues · Jun 26, 2005

azbikergirl said:
This is what I think of as "being a writer first."

Flout? Did you really mean to ask if I 'treat my own writing prowess with contempt at the expense of a good story?' Perhaps you meant 'tout' or 'show off' instead.

A few of these posts seem to condemn people who are stronger at writing than verbalizing their stories. Or maybe I misunderstand the definition of storytelling -- I think of it as a verbal art. Even though I'm far, far more comfortable relating stories in written form, my prose style is simple -- far from being 'literary' by any stretch of the imagination. (And certainly not worth 'showing off!')

Good point. Flout may not have been the proper word choice. I was probably being a little extreme.

Of course, embrace and cultivate your craft. Nurture it. I prefer the organic approach. I start with the story first, and then sculpt and prune where necessary on revision.

Mike

aruna · Jun 26, 2005

moblues said:
Good point. Flout may not have been the proper word choice. I was probably being a little extreme.

Of course, embrace and cultivate your craft. Nurture it. I prefer the organic approach. I start with the story first, and then sculpt and prune where necessary on revision.

Mike

I think you meant flaunt - didn't you?

moblues · Jun 26, 2005

aruna said:
I think you meant flaunt - didn't you?

Yes. That would be a much better word choice. Thanks.

I didn't think that my participation in this discussion would stir the pot so much. Sorry.

Mike

azbikergirl · Jun 26, 2005

moblues said:
I start with the story first, and then sculpt and prune where necessary on revision.

I do, too. But does that make me a storyteller first, despite the fact that I can't easily (or elegantly!) verbalize the story? Still, I think of myself as a writer, not a storyteller.

moblues · Jun 26, 2005

azbikergirl said:
I do, too. But does that make me a storyteller first, despite the fact that I can't easily (or elegantly!) verbalize the story? Still, I think of myself as a writer, not a storyteller.

I guess it really comes down to how you view yourself. I think of myself as a storyteller because I have no aspirations for greatness. I am not going to kid myself that I could write the next "Great American Novel".

I write what I myself would like to read. My influences over the years have been Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, and H.P. Lovecraft. Much loved writers, but not thought of as luminaries by any stretch. I enjoyed the direct and economic approach that they each had towards their craft.

Mike

Samuel Dark · Jun 26, 2005

Writin

CJWilkes said:
I heard that there are Storytellers and Writers. I have come to understand that I am a storyteller and have some excellent Outlines for stories... but that with practice I can become a great writer.

Just wanted to see what you picture yourself as... Which do you feel is your stronger point?

Great question. And here is my answer. I am a super storyteller. Really am. I have awesome stories, and I can always get the climaxes and such that every story needs.

Writing, for my age at least, I consider myself good. Maybe great. But thats for you to decide. Anyway, I am a great plotter of words. I consider it a art, and I am a painter. Every word has to be painted on the page, in just the right place -- otherwise it wouldn't make sense. And I think, when I try my hardest, I accomplish that.

Thats my answer, and I am sticking to it.

CJWilkes · Jun 27, 2005

Samuel Dark said:
Writin

Great question. And here is my answer. I am a super storyteller. Really am. I have awesome stories, and I can always get the climaxes and such that every story needs.

Writing, for my age at least, I consider myself good. Maybe great. But thats for you to decide. Anyway, I am a great plotter of words. I consider it a art, and I am a painter. Every word has to be painted on the page, in just the right place -- otherwise it wouldn't make sense. And I think, when I try my hardest, I accomplish that.

Thats my answer, and I am sticking to it.

And I must say a beautifull answer at that!

Thank you for all your replies. I tend to look at myself as a story teller who may one day become a great writer... But we shall see

alaskamatt17 · Jun 27, 2005

I'm a storyteller; writing is my favorite medium in which to convey my stories, but I also like making short movies (only one finished so far, though), and songs (I can't sing, but I can compose pretty good stuff with a midi-sequencer).

Unfortunately, my skills at writing need too much improvement for me to be a successful writer. Yet. I'm halfway through my third novel now, and I have seen marked improvement since the beginning of the first one. I think the next one I start might actually have a chance of being published.

Sharon Mock · Jun 28, 2005

aruna said:
I believe storytelling is a gift that cannot be taught if it doesn't come naturally; whereas writing craft CAN be learned.

I'd disagree with this. Storytelling did not come naturally to me, but with time, research, and practice I've learned quite a bit about what makes a story sturdy enough to hang words on. I doubt I'll ever be mistaken for a "natural storyteller," but at least I don't tend to get the "well-written but" rejections any more.

Storyteller v Writer

CJWilkes

sassandgroove

Sassy haircut

Dewayne

Niapri

Mistook

Neverending WIP

aruna

On a wing and a prayer

Mistook

Neverending WIP

Jamesaritchie

Nateskate

azbikergirl

I really do look like this.

pixiejuice

Kiva Wolfe

moblues

aruna

On a wing and a prayer

aruna

On a wing and a prayer

azbikergirl

I really do look like this.

moblues

aruna

On a wing and a prayer

moblues

azbikergirl

I really do look like this.

moblues

Samuel Dark

CJWilkes

alaskamatt17

Sharon Mock

Wing nut