I just read this fabulous article that really elucidates what we authors really do as storytellers.
Yes, we crave the details. But for the details to have meaning we need the storyteller to interpret them for us. The storyteller is a critical piece of the puzzle, one who can take a series of facts and events and give them meaning. Yes while a cowboy shooting down a bad guy or the detailed explanation in how space travel works is a necessary part of the narrative, it is not what we seek as a reader. It is the experience we crave. It is the sequence of events and emotions inside that cowboy’s head and why he wants this bad man dead so much, or the thoughts inside the space explorer’s head when the great red planet gets closer and closer and the earth becomes a tiny point of light floating out in the vast nothingness of space.
It’s really a learning experience for me still, only just getting started with writing and publishing stories like this. I love reading articles like this because not only are they interesting, I know they’ll make me a better writer in the long run. I can’t use a picture, so I guess I’ll just have to write a thousand words instead!
Original Article
