The Art Of The Story Teller...!

A writer’s muse is beyond gold. When observed gazing for long periods at wall, ceiling or sky, a writer is in fact hard at work. Writing appears to take place with scrawls on paper or taps on keyboard but the real work happens while the mind is playing.
Gene GeRue


The reason that I put this quote in here is because it sometimes is so hard to explain to anyone who does not write what all is involved in the process. Writing involves a lot of research to be effective. Whether you are writing a book, an article, or a blog the need for research is most important.

My research is quite easy for the most part...I merely let my mind wander off to where ever it goes when set free. Most of the time, it finds a memory or two that it will pause at long enough for me to be aware of and POW!...instant research! I have to admit that sometimes I use the more orthodox approach of looking things up, but that's a lot duller than having a memory or two to fall back on.

When I decided to tackle the task of writing a small book myself, I was aware that some of what I was writing was taken from actual events experienced by the same folks that might read the book . So why include them, you ask? Simple! Because no two people recall the same activity in the same fashion. Not only are their memory of it different, but their reaction to it, their feelings, emotions, even the time frame of this shared experience seems to change from person to person.

Here is an example of what I mean. You are at a gathering like a family reunion. You're sitting around with friends or family, and start telling one of the many stories that start with "Remember when..." or "I can remember...". As the story is shared with everyone there, some people might interrupt and say something like "But I thought it happened like this..." or "What really happened was...". See what I mean?

We all have our own way of recalling things and rearranging them to suit ourselves. That's human nature! That's what is so important about sharing memories and stories with one another. By sharing them, we allow people to see our version and our memory of these events as we do!

Now what about the writers of fiction? These writers, the good ones, can create persons and places and events all from the depths of their own minds and somehow, on some level, help us to identify with their version. Some of the characters we identify with so strongly that we would almost swear they are real! That is where the art of story telling, or writing comes into it's own.

You know, in the not so distant past our ancestors passed on the history of our tribes and peoples by the use of story tellers. The story teller held a place of honor among his people as the keeper of the way things were and the way they should be. They handed down the Law from generation to generation, kept customs and traditions alive, helped relive the glories as well as the disappointments of the past, reminded us of our greatest heroes as well as our greatest enemies...basically reminded us of who and what we are.

Essentially this is what a writer does. He or she tells a story, from research or from memory, and tries to tell it in a way that will touch the reader or listener in some fashion. That is the reward, to be able to touch a person in some manner by the telling of a story or the sharing of a memory.

So the next time you see me sitting there staring off into space, a blank look on my face and stars in my eyes...I'm not just gazing but doing research! My mind is hard at work! After all, I'm trying to be a Writer!

Now let's get some fresh coffee...OK? OK!