The Art of Storytelling

Are storytellers born or made? I'd like to think that it's a fifty fifty split between nature and nurture! I believe that you need to be born with some writing and storytelling ability - but that it's how you hone your craft that makes the difference. Writing is one of the few talents that many believe is god-given; you either have it or you don't. There's something unromantic about the idea of an author sweating over their writing for years before finally turning out a publishable story. Yet, other art forms - music, acting, singing and dance - require years of practice before someone can be called an expert. With this in mind, it follows that the more stories you write, the better they will be.

When deciding upon what genre to write, it might help to keep the following in mind:

1. Write in the genre you love
2. Write the sort of book you would love to read
3. Write your story for all those people who love the same books as you.

You'll notice that the keyword in all three of the above sentences is 'love'. Let's face it, writing a book and then doing numerous drafts and edits, is hard enough without writing in a genre you aren't passionate about.  That road only leads to disappointment and frustration. Write what you love!

So you've chosen your favourite genre - how should you approach the storytelling itself? There are various schools of thought on this, with entire books dedicated to the subject, but I can share what works for me. I start with a strong basic theme or idea. I often use the premise 'What if?' when coming up with ideas. For my first book, The Children of Isador, the starting point was around the main character: what if the only saviour of a war-torn land is an irresponsible, vain and shallow young wizard? My current book, The Citadel of Lies (Book One of the Palâdnith Trilogy, available on Amazon Kindle in early 2013), started with the premise: Three brothers. Three assassins. One destination. I imagined three estranged brothers who have not seen each other in a decade, three assassins who have been sent to hunt them, and the place where they will be reunited: The Citadel of Lies. From this, the first of three stories was born!

Some writers meticulously plan their stories before commencing writing, while others research their world and characters thoroughly and start the story with only a vague idea of where the story will go. I fall in to the latter category. I don't plot my stories out in detail before writing - not out of laziness - but because the storytelling must be an adventure for me. If I know exactly what will happen, the excitement dies. This might mean that I have to spend longer on the second, third and fourth drafts of the story, as I iron out a few plot creases, but it also means that the writing keeps fresh and alive throughout. This approach also leaves space for a bit of magic to happen along the way; characters can behave it ways you might never have thought of, and the plot might take a direction that will have you, and your readers, on the edge of your seats to the very last page!

Get writing!