Writing and storytelling; an author's two skills
This post should take about 5 minutes to read through.
As I've written before, I consider that the purpose of a story is to be engaging, and to be clearly communicated. These are in fact two distinct purposes, separate from each other, and somewhat unconnected. A writer's effectiveness in these two purposes comes from two equally separate and somewhat unconnected skills; what I call writing and storytelling. It's like the superposition principle in physics; the author uses his or her two skills and writes a story, and its final effectiveness is the result of his or her mastery of these two skills separately.
I have worked with authors that are excellent writers but bad storytellers, and authors who are excellent storytellers but bad writers. I consider myself to be an okay writer but not that adequate storyteller. It's best to be a great storyteller but not that great a writer, as it's easy to improve the latter skill. It's harder to improve when you're better at writing than storytelling.
I call "writing" the skill that allows a person to string together words and form coherent sentences. The utmost objective of this skill is to communicate clearly. When an author is a good writer, the reader will know exactly what's happening, at all times. The reader will have no trouble following the action and the story, and the descriptions will leave crystal-clear images in his or her mind. This doesn't necessarily mean that the author will be using many words, or sophisticated words, or complex sentences. Some authors are more verbose than others. What sets a great writer apart is how well they magically transfer the image in their head to the heads of their readers.
One's skill in writing is not universal across the languages one knows. I'm Greek, yet I'm a much better writer in English than my native Greek, since I have read hundreds of books in English and have worked for years in that language, compared to the few dozen books I've read in my native tongue before I grew too frustrated with garbage translations (rare is the good native Greek fantasy writer who writes in Greek, I know of only one, and if you're familiar with someone, let me know). Additionally, an author's writing skill is not universal across all domains of writing. One may be a good fiction writer but not as good at non-fiction. Or they may struggle with writing emails or messages.
In order to improve one's writing, the main thing they need to do is to write. Write, then write some more. Additionally, reading is incredibly important, as I've written before. There are classes one can take to improve, and there is plenty of advice on how to write well. I thoroughly recommend Chuck Palahniuk's essays on writing. But in the end, writing is a "crunchy" skill (as in, crunch vs fluff, that is to say, more intellectual than anything else). One's direct efforts in trying to improve will help them improve.
I call "storytelling" the skill that allows a person to create engaging stories. The utmost objective of this skill is to create emotions in the listener or reader. When an author is a good storyteller, the reader will feel things, will be unable to put down the book. The reader will be moved by the story, it will remain with them for a while, and they'll feel like they know the characters. They'll empathize with them; they'll identify with them. This doesn't necessarily mean that the author will be overly dramatic or that the story will be one of emotional extremes. Some authors are more dramatic than others. What sets a great storyteller apart is how well they can touch a reader's heart. (Yes, this paragraph is a close mirror of the one earlier.)
A storyteller's skill is universal. If someone's a good storyteller, they'll be able to tell a good joke, they'll be able to write a story with engaging plot and interesting characters, and they'll be able to do so in any language they know. They'll even have some personal charisma, a magnetic personality. People will want them to speak, even just to be near them.
A storyteller often has something they want to say. A storyteller will have lived an interesting, intense life.
As you may be able to understand, it's not as straightforward to improve one's ability to tell stories. How do you write engaging characters? Sure, there are several tricks one can employ, especially when one turns inward and looks for what they like in a story. I like stories of self-improvement and triumph of good over evil, so I'm drawn like a moth to a flame to the isekai/wuxia/GameLit/LitRPG genre; and I've studied them and myself to find what is at the core of what I like. I believe I can identify the tropes or characteristics that can make a litRPG story good.
Does that mean I can write a good litRPG story? No. But my story is better off now that I know what makes the genre engaging to me than it would be if I didn't know.
In truth, to become a better storyteller, an author must work on a variety of domains. They must learn to live their life more intensely, more passionately, more introspectively. They must learn to look inwards and find what they enjoy out of life, and out of stories. They must get to know themselves, their flaws, their strengths, the sources of their fears and dreams. They must overcome their lack of confidence. They must discover something to write about. They must meet people, live adventures, go way out of their comfort zone. An author's natural habitat is usually their notebook/typewriter/computer, so this becomes even harder. And, of course, none of the above is guaranteed to help them become better storytellers. They may become more interesting and well-developed men and women, but not necessarily better storytellers.
Of course, neither of the two is enough by itself. If you are an amazing storyteller but your writing is so obtuse that the reader can't read more than a page without snapping the book closed, then what difference does it make? And if your writing is impeccable and your descriptions spot-on but the story is so hollow and the characters so flat that the reader falls asleep while reading the book, what did you achieve? Both skills are necessary for the author to develop.
My advice is, discover what you lack and improve it, and discover what you're good at and lean into it. Learn to put heart into your stories, and learn to be clear and direct in your descriptions. Don't be disheartened if you're a bad storyteller. Worse storytellers than you have resonated with people. You do have something to say, just dig a bit deeper, and there are people out there that want to read your message. And don't be disheartened if you're a bad writer. Worse writers than you have published books. Improve your craft, day by day—and get a good editor!
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. As always, don't hesitate to reach out if you have something you want to tell me. You know where to find me.
Keep writing.