Writer vs. Storyteller

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the terms “writer” and “storyteller”. There are many authors out there who identify as “storytellers” rather than “writers”, and when discussing the often-debated Stephenie Meyer, people will strongly argue that she is a “storyteller” rather than a “writer”. That had me wondering, what exactly is the difference between a “writer” and “storyteller”, and which one am I—or can I be both?

As always, when I have deep questions such as this one, I turned to that all-encompassing modern search tool, Google, for the answer. Of course, their AI tried to give me an answer, but I did not necessarily trust it, so I skimmed until I found an article that I found rather trustworthy to tell me the difference between a “writer” and a “storyteller”. This article came from a site called The Write Practice, and you can find the link to the original article, “Are You a Writer or a Storyteller?”, below.

According to this article, a writer is “a person who uses written words in various styles and techniques to communicate ideas”. A storyteller, by contrast, is “someone who conveys events in words, images, or sounds”.

Still confused? I was a bit, too. Then the article went on to use a quote from C.S. Lewis in which he compares storytelling to essay writing. Both are taught, but people want to read the former; they don’t necessarily want to read the latter.

Now, I would argue that there are people who want to read essays—you’re reading this one right now, aren’t you?—but I still get their point. Writers are people who express themselves through words, no matter what form those words take, be it an essay, poem, or a story. A storyteller, on the other hand, crafts stories in particular; they build worlds, images, characters, etc. One masters the word itself; one masters the overall story.

So, that brings me to my second question: which am I?

Well, I must admit that I first fell in love with the story, not the word. I love the complexities behind building an entire world and the lives of characters, whether they be grounded in reality or fantastical realms. I love seeing where they take themselves, how far they will go, and what it means for the lessons that they teach the reader (and what the reader gets from the story that I did not see myself).

Does that mean I am a storyteller? In a way, yes.

However, I have also fallen in love with the word over the years. I love manipulating how it sounds, what it looks like, how it affects people on a subconscious level that they don’t even realize is going on. I love that just changing the word choice can make the reader think differently, can change the meaning of an entire scene. I’m even nerdy enough to get excited about the history of words and their evolution.

Does that make me a writer? Again, yes.

So, can I be both a writer and a storyteller?

I would say yes, I can. In fact, I think that it works better when you are not just one but both. Sure, being only a storyteller means that you can create compelling worlds that captive your readers. And yes, being only a writer means that you can spellbind your readers with the way in which you weave together your words. However, if you are only a storyteller, then your writing itself might come across as flat, amateurish. And if you are only a writer, your work as a whole might not be compelling enough to keep your reader wanting to read it. Only together can you become the ultimate artisan and entertain your readers to the fullest.

What do you think? Should we both writers and storytellers? Which do you think you are? A writer? A storyteller? Both? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!