The Art of Storytelling

Storytelling comes in all forms. From Mother Goose’s Little Red Riding Hood to Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven, we’ve heard the stories, but did we feel them? The art of storytelling is in the emotion. For example, my books Eliza Jane and Eliza’s Revenge I tell a story but my songs are storytelling. The words take you on a journey from the first verse to the last. There is emotion and feelings in those words and even more, the music brings those words to life. My storytelling is in the form of my songs. I have looked at the faces of my audience and with some songs, I have seen their tears; they felt something. Have you ever been in some kind of mood and knew exactly what song you needed to hear?

Have you ever read a book, a poem or even a Facebook meme and had to stop and think about it because it touches a part of you? That is the art of storytelling. 

Storytelling goes deeper than just plot, characters and settings, it has messages, lessons and meanings and yes, emotion. I mentioned my songs. Poetry is another popular form of storytelling. It is filled with emotions and deep meanings. Last Saturday, I performed at an open mic night and there was a young man, I’d say in his early 20’s, who read some of his poetry. One poem was about his rocky relationship with his father. Besides the words, it was also the way it was read. It brought tears to my eyes. It was beautifully sad. I felt his pain, his hope, his needs and his sorrows. His second poem was about racism. He is of Mexican descent and it was about a co-worker’s racist comments towards African-American workers, most of them are this poet’s friends. It was powerful. I felt his anger, his fortitude to stand up to his co-worker and his loyalty to his friends. That is storytelling.

Storytelling is about feeling something.

Telling a story is about sharing something. 

Both are talents within their own rights.

Both take a different set of skills.

If you want to be a storyteller, you must delve deeper into your creative mind and pull out more emotion. I’d say ninety percent of my songs are based on personal experiences (good and bad) Where Are We Now (written about my relationship with my abuser), people I know, London Fog (walking away from a platonic relationship) or news stories that touched me When I Saw You Cry (written after the Amish school shooting when I saw the women crying, but on the CD, it is dedicated to all victims of school shootings). 

To be a storyteller, you must pull out the visual. Your reader must see every single thing you want them to feel. 

Next Week: More on Storytelling: Pulling out the visual

Until Next time…