OK. This is getting tough. First I find out that I think too much, then I find out I'm too cerebral, only to find out that I'm also too literal minded. None of that comes as much of a surprise. Those of you who know me know that I'm a moderately boring nerd.1 Now I find out I have to be a good storyteller to communicate effectively. That doesn't leave me much hope. I might have been able to figure out how to speak to the gut and to be a little more creative,2 but I've never been able to tell a good story. I don't have an eye for the details that make a story come I alive. I live in an abstract world of principles and ideas, not the real world of flesh and blood.
What makes it even worse is that although good stories have a predictable structure, one I might even be able to learn, they also have memorable characters.
What makes it even worse is that although good stories have a predictable structure, one I might even be able to learn, they also have memorable characters.
Character is so much more powerful and deep and complex, but it is also very elusive, hard to teach, hard to analyze.Damn! There isn't a formula. I'm going to have to rely on my intuition, which means my goose is cooked.
Being able to tell a concise, interesting, and entertaining story that also conveys substance is a trait that everybody likes.You can see where this is going. I know what to shoot for, but I don't think it's a target I'll hit.
1OK, OK. I'm less interesting than that. I'm an excruciatingly boring nerd.
2Except that even in writing that, I'm being too cerebral. I'm trying to figure it out rather than letting my intuition guide me.
I used to be a terrible, awful storyteller when I started college. My husband, however, is a fantastic story teller. I've picked up a lot of tricks from him. Sometimes I get annoyed when he exaggerates when he tells our stories (and he gets annoyed when I try to correct him), but he does know how to hook (and keep) an audience.
Maybe at the next party you go to, you should hang out with the most captivating storyteller there and take (mental) notes.
I feel exactly the same way about my partner. He tells really good stories, but part of the reason is that they are inspired by true events, but enhanced in the telling "to make a good story." When I point out the ways in which they're not quite right, his reply is "But it makes a better story this way." And he's right. That's part of my problem. I am, as Randy says, too literal minded, too little tuned into the story. Add to that the fact that I'm naturally shy and more than a little boring and you have more than enough ingredients to make me a world-class wallflower. But I'm trying, and even if I can't be particularly captivating, I can at least be clear and understandable. Maybe that way if people find a post I've made about biodiversity loss, endangered species, intelligent design creationism, or whatever, they'll at least go on their way understanding a little more, even if they're thinking to themselves "What a boring guy!"
Well, thankfully you and I both have great storytellers in our lives to be sure that the interesting things that do happen are actually heard (though I must say I'm not convinced you're nearly as boring as you seem to think you are. Also, more people probably read your blog than you can see from Google Analytics or whatever because feed readers don't show up in the counts- or maybe I'm just making myself feel better by thinking that about my own blog).