Are you a storyteller?

Or do you just tell stories?

There's a big difference you know.

Writers who tell stories recount the details of what's happening on the page for the reader. They may go into minute detail of every aspect of the scene and the characters appearance as they set up the plot. They tell the reader what the character is feeling. Revealing their emotions like a shopping list of items to be picked up for dinner.

Storytellers on the other hand draw the reader emotionally into the story as they set up the plot.  They filter the scene through the characters eyes. Revealing only those details that are absolutely pertinent to the story as it transpires on the page. Investing the reader with the characters emotions.

Those who tell stories worry about word and page counts.

Storytellers know the story is done, when it is done.

Becoming a storyteller is not easy, but it can be done. Some are born with that innate ability while others struggle to achieve that goal.

I fall into the latter group, close but not quite, so I continue the struggle to train that storytellers voice. Most times it's a disappointment, but every so often the inner storyteller takes over, and it is these rare moments that compel me to continue writing in the face of all the odds stacked against me.

It is not the lure of riches or fame that drives me. Rather the desire to connect with the reader on an emotional level, to share with them my unique vision of the world around us. To tell them a story in the old tradition.

Are you a storyteller?

Or do you tell stories?