Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Writer or Story Teller by Iris Blobel

Writer or Storyteller?



“To be or not to be “ ..... Now I’m not here to tell you that there’s a difference. Quite honestly, I wouldn’t dare. I’m not Wikipedia. But in my humble opinion, yes there is one. See, when people come up to me and ask whether I’m an writer I’m always tempted to tell them I’m a storyteller.









I’m not a writer. For the life of it, I cannot sit down and

just write, may it be a story, blog or even a letter. I need the “right moment”, most of the time it’s the “right music” that makes me wonder off into a daydream – and bingo! I’ve thought about how the next scene for my storycould be. I don’t plot, I don’t develop characters, I just write down my words.

 



So, I’ve got the music, I’ve got my laptop and jot it down. Easy and straight forward. After a few months I’ve got a really nice story and I ask friends(even hubby!)for their opinion - luckily they’ve always liked it so far. Now comes the part writers do from the very beginning: my story now needs to be polished with “show not tell”, with the right POV and to bring a “flow” into the sentences. Then you send it off to a pro Editor for more polishing.


Now for me a writer has learnt these talents (or they even come naturally to them) –  They can show the character’s heart is aching in a way that the reader is searching for their tissues to wipe a tear. They describe the scene so subtly you don’t notice the words, but you have the picture right in front of you. They have the hang of the POVs. They know where they want the story to go to and they know how to get there. Read a good book, not necessarily a bestseller, and concentrate on just those points and you seewhat I mean.







Writing

a book is a craft and should honestly not be underestimated. I know I did So if you think you have a great story all your friends and critique partners loved, do yourself a favour and have it polished into that diamond
that it deserves to be!





You can find the fruits of Iris' methods in Journey to Her Dreams

Would you travel around the world to uncover the reason for your dreams?  
Hollie, a young woman from Tasmania does, and during her journey to Ireland, she is determined to find out what is behind those dreams about “the other woman”. Yet, during her quest for answers, Hollie finds more than just the reason for it.

5 comments:

  1. Thanks to Bri & Astraea Press for giving me the opportunity to post here. I've got to say writing and publishing seems less daunting when you have a publisher like AP guiding you all the way ...

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  2. Couldn't agree more, Iris. Good writing, particularly with fiction, really is good storytelling. It would work just as well verbally as in print, so get your books on audio! And thanks for reminding us all about the importance of point of view, character development, and showing instead of telling certain emotions and scenes.

    Sigrid

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  3. I'm always in awe of, and very inspired by your story-telling Iris. I think you are a great storyteller, but also a great writer!! :) I know they are both different, but I think you have conquered them both! I don't know HOW you do it. I wouldn't know where to start! Just writing THIS is enough for me, so heavens knows how you write your books! :)

    I have read and loved your previous book, and really look forward to your new book when it's ready!

    Cheers,

    Felicity

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  4. Great post, Iris, you put it beautifully

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