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Perhaps
it’s the economy, perhaps we are becoming more literate, or perhaps we
just want to escape for a while, but people are reading more. And
writing more. Not letters, emails have effectively sabotaged that. But
creative writing – memoirs, short stories, novels. And all involve the
art of story telling.
We
are natural story tellers, from the time we sat around fires at the
entrance to our caves looking out at the dark; looking inside
ourselves; trying to make sense of our living.
Daily
we tell stories to our friends, selected portions of our eventful
lives. Incidents that happen to us, where we may cast ourselves in the
light of victims. Or heroic stories where we are the achievers. Or
stories of pain and confusion where our roles are not nearly as clear.
We
use our imaginations and select details to charm and entertain and
sometimes disconcert with our stories. How, could she! Or he! exclaims
our listener, to the great satisfaction of the storyteller. For above
all, we want a reaction.
Mostly
the stories we tell one another are based on our own experiences. But
they don’t have be. There is a grand feeling of satisfaction to be
gained in writing stories that are born out of the imagination. And a
feeling of liberation, of being set free from the tyranny of facts.
I
discussed with a friend the other day how writing can be the ultimate
escape from our lives. Sometimes it can seem as if we have two separate
lives, running parallel to each other, one real, one imaginary. But
more often they cross over, dip in and inform each other.
And
it’s true that the characters we create can seem almost as real as our
friends, in many respects we know them more intimately.
When
I finished my novel, ‘Uncut’ I experienced a real sense of loss about
having to say goodbye to Gemma, my feisty main character. Of course
unlike real friendship it’s one-way. I doubt Gemma misses me at all!
And
while on storytelling, I am hosting a workshop, ‘The Art of Story
Telling’ at Coolum Beach on the Sunshine Coast on 15-16 August. Please
give me a call or email if you’d like more details.
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