Saturday, June 23, 2012

Dreamers vs Storytellers



New writers often hear people telling them to "find your writer's voice".  Well I think I might have something wrong with me because I'm hearing more than one voice.  And I'm not sure where those voices are coming from.  It seems like my mind never stills and those voices range from small children wishing for grand adventures to young adults finding themselves in the middle of a mystery and everything in between.  Voices all dying to come out and spill their stories.




A friend of mine commented the other day that it seemed like I could somehow conjure sensory images in my stories until the reader could almost feel what the main character was feeling.  That I could capture just the right words to describe a world which invited others to come in and stay awhile.  They, however, sometimes seem to struggle to bring their own visions to life.  At the time I gave what I hoped were some useful suggestions, but I have thought a lot since then about their observation of my work and I've come to a conclusion.  I believe beginner writers evolve over time into one of two types of writers.  Some are Dreamers and some are Storytellers.




Dreamers have wonderful stories swirling around in their heads.  True to life characters and worlds so real one could almost touch them.  But there is where they stay...in someone's head.  For whatever reason...either through lack of a skill yet to be learned or simply the inability to bring that story to life no matter how hard they try, Dreamers are trapped in the land of dreams and readers are never invited into that world.


 


Storytellers, however, command attention.  They play with the written word and invoke their readers' senses until the worlds and characters of their stories seem as real as the readers themselves.  To read a great book is to catch a glimpse of the storyteller's mind and oh what dreams are hiding there just waiting to be shown to the world.

For myself, I hope one day I evolve into a true storyteller.  Until then I will keep writing and keep encouraging those voices in my head to speak to me and maybe one day I will bring my own great story to life...







10 comments:

  1. You're already there. This is a fantastic post. I know a lot of dreamers. They have great ideas, but they never do anything with them. I want to be one of the great storytellers too. I'm trying and that's the first step.

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    1. Hi Christine and welcome to my blog! Thank you for your kind words. It would be nice to think that you are correct about my being a Storyteller...now if I could just convince a publisher of that fact...lol...

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  2. *claps* ....You have certainly hit the nail on the head here.
    I smiled to myself, the little cherub is very much a pose I have when at the laptop at the end of the day, trying to remember the story that raced through my head while I was manuvouring my car through the traffic in the wee hours of the morning.
    You on the other hand are certainly a storyteller. Great post Donna!

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    1. Lol, Diane...yes, I can certainly see the cherub in you...;0)....this is why I say GET A RECORDER! That way you can listen to those voices in your head and talk it out...play it back later and write it down. You don't want to miss a thing!

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  3. The voices in my head thank YOUR voices.

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    1. Too funny, Janet!

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  4. Fabulous post, Donna! You are truly a gifted storyteller :D

    OMG! The storyteller in your post is exactlly how I picture the narrator in one of my current WIPS :O So, you're the other voice in my head that's guiding my keyboard tapping fingers! Welcome :D

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    1. Hi LJ! I've never been told that I was the voice in someone's head before but I will take that as a compliment...lol...and thank you for your kind words...

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  5. It's easy to dream; it's hard to make the dream come to life. It takes true talent to write. I hope some day I'll be able to say I have that talent.

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    1. Hi Vicki! I think some writers tend to think their talent sometimes isn't strong enough to make their dreams a reality. I too hope that one day I will have the talent to let me dreams soar...

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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