What's the Difference between a Storyteller and a Writer?

As I try to write a book, a story that I wish to enthrall people with and inspire a generation as I was inspired, I find myself filled with self doubt and questioning if I really have the ability to write a full fledged book. I question whether someone who is an excellent storyteller can also be a good writer or vice versa. I have been told many times that I am an excellent storyteller and that my writing is also very good and yet, with a book I can never seem to make any progress. With every click of a key or stroke of a pen I question whether what I am writing is worth it. Is the work I'm putting in going to pay off or will this story never come to fruition and is simply going to be added to a pile of stories that people have never finished. Today I am going to explore what it means to be a storyteller and a writer. The differences between the two and why I believe that it is possible to be one and not the other.

What does it mean to be a storyteller? If you ask google it will simply tell you “A person who tells stories”, while that isn’t incorrect it is far from a satisfactory answer. When I think of someone as a storyteller I think of someone who is charismatic. Someone whose acting, cadence and facial expressions bring to life otherwise hollow words. Their speciality is in their performance. In a way storytellers are actors without a big stage. In this way they are similar to writers in that they give words so much more meaning than others can. Though I argue the difference is that storytellers rely on their charisma and can oftentimes become lost when attempting to convey the same feelings through pen and paper. This is the impasse that I find myself at. Even though some would say otherwise, when I write what I say it just doesn’t feel as if the same punch exists. The same bravado with which I speak simply can’t be shown on a page. It is infuriating to have something you love feel so complicated when it used to be so simple. But I am getting side tracked. To go back to the focus of this article, a storyteller's charisma cannot always be translated to pen and paper. That is the main difference between Storytellers and Writers. But you may ask, ``What about writers? What separates them from Storytellers?” Well dear reader I am glad you asked. Allow me to shed some light on this quandary.

What does it mean to be a writer? Well to google it is “a person who has written a particular text”. Again, not a very satisfactory answer. To be a writer, more specifically a good one, I believe requires the power to translate all five emotions to a page in a logical and descriptive manner. To be able to paint a picture with words so vivid that one can imagine the scene right before their eyes. It is not enough for a good writer to say “the blood flowed on the floor and touched my foot”, for that would be the most simple and obvious thing to say. Good writers would write “The crimson blood slithered its way through the cracks and crevices on the floor. The strong scent of iron perverted the once clean air as the sanguine serpent gently nestled its warm body against my foot.” Something that a good writer does not need is charisma. Unlike the storyteller a writer allows the written words to express their thoughts and imagination. That is not to say that these two professions do not cross over in any capacity. Some of the best writers are also excellent storytellers and vice versa. They are able to speak as if they are writing or write as if they are speaking at a whim. To be this combination is a true gift and one that we are lucky to have seen in this world. If I were to be asked who I think is an excellent example of both, I would say Stephen King. Probably an obvious answer but just watch his interviews and read any of his books. You can see the charismatic story teller as he speaks and the excellent writer in his words. I hope that I have conveyed in a clear manner the differences and similarities between a storyteller and a writer, at least in my eyes.

I don’t want it to be misunderstood. I don’t think it is better to be one or the other, both, or neither. No matter what one's expertise is, it is to be valued. I write this more as a way to vent frustrations when it comes to my own writing. How I feel as if the storytelling I do with those around me simply doesn’t translate to the page. I try to write how I speak and it simply doesn’t feel right. There is something missing in my writing and this wall that I am hitting won’t budge. I hope by writing this I will be able to take a step back, separate myself from my work, and learn to be the writer I want to be. Hopefully that will be sooner rather than later.