Are you a storyteller or writer? Or... both?
I, unfortunately do not believe I am as much as a writer as I am a storyteller.
I have been telling stories ever since I could make out up and down, left and right, up and down, right and wrong, you know the drill...
I have been writing for years (I wrote my first "novel" at the age of nine, so writing for me, must be somewhere inside me.) but am I any good?
I have to say that I feel I can't put down exactly what feel - yet. I can't describe a setting, or a character with the right words.
Mastering writing is a most difficult task, though I feel if I have not already, I am close to mastering storytelling. I fall in love with the characters I want to love. I hate the antagonists as much as my protagonist hates them, (to a certain extent... as I love every single character I make up.)
I can fall in love with a setting, too. The setting that makes it special to me.
My characters voices - Yes, I hear them. I literally HEAR them talk to me. I am alone quite often, and as I don't speak to many people in real life (apart from my family) I have a tight bond with my characters.
So the question is... are you a storyteller or a writer? I envy people sometimes as I read a passage from their story, or a few lines, I ask myself if I have what it takes. Even though their ideas might be amazing and out of this world, I could come up with another type of out of this world plot, sort of. But the words... hmm.
I love the English language - so much that i don't know what I would do without it. Maybe it is the fact that in Malta, people don't really speak English well. As my mother is half British and spoke to me only in English, I guess that is were it all comes from. And reading - Reading Reading Reading...
But even reading! It takes me ages to read a book... even if it is one I can't get enough of. I often want to read it so much, and find out what happens, that I just... can't be bothered, really. I am not quite sure....
I am sure this is not the case for most of you... but do you have these difficulties?
Are you not able to find the right words to put down? Are you not able to read fast enough... and all the rest?
-Charlie, The Cooler Teen
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3 months ago
9 comments:
I like to think I'm able too write aswell as tell a story worth telling. Of course there are somethings I have a hard time trying to write about, but that's because I don't quite understand what I'm trying to say to begin with. I think that if you really want to write about something worth reading you need to understand that thing more then you understand yourself...which shouldn't be so hard since hardly anyone really understands themselves to begin with. (I also have a terrible time trying to actaully figure out how to begin a story...but I'm pretty sure everyone has faced that dilemma before.)
But not being able to find the right words to get across the picture you want to express isn't the worst thing in the world. I always say that while the craft of writing can always be learned, the thought and the ideas that go into writing a brilliant story cannot. Some people are just born with an imagination that can think of brilliant concepts few can even fathom without it being thrown in front of them. While great storytellers may never become great writers the same goes for great writers. And those few that have both, we all envy you.
I could not have put it better myself. Well done. :D
You know, I would be very interested in reading something both of you have written, Charlie and Hanna. I would love to see what kind of writing style you have and the like. You could give one another a writing prompt each week and by the end of the week post it here so your lovely followers can read what came from the prompt. I think it would be interesting. It would also give you something to refine your writing on aswell as get critiques if they are so desired from peolpe who read your blog. It's an idea, but what do you think? And you wouldn't necessarily have to give a prompt in the unsual sense of the word, it could just be a photograph of something you find interesting.
I agree with the writing prompts. And all of us 'dreamers' :P could do them too. It would be really nice to read each others' writing and get some feedback.
OMG!!!! Yes Jessica! Yes Tessie! I absolutely agree! Perhaps, we should have a word limit as well? That way this writing assignment wont disrupt our schedules and other writing commitments.
BTW, I loved your post Charlie. I am very self conscious about my about my writing. Sometimes its difficult when I read novels from Copote or Steinbeck and then realize that...well...I'm not them.
Recently, I've been trying to be less aware of my technical writing and just focus on having fun. Its not always easy...
Anyway, I"m very excited about the prompt idea and I hope everyone has a wonderful week!
what about... hm... 1,000 word limit? Is that too much or too little? I have no idea :/ Either way, it's going to be awesome
Depends... with every entry title, we will give a word limit. From Minimum count to Maximum :D
Like lets say... describing a setting. 1,000 words is a bit much. xD
-Keep Dreaming, Charlie.
Haha that's true. 1,000 words would be torture to describe your closet.
Umm yeah! You know this about me. You don't know how many times certain scenes you've read have had to be rewritten - and a lot still ended up being crap.
And, yes, I'm a slow reader. Still reading TSSLOBT!!
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