Storytelling

One of my unofficial resolutions for 2017 was to get better at storytelling. I've written several stories through the years with varying levels of success, but good oral storytelling was a talent I recognized in many people that I admire.

Fortunately for me, I acquired a lot of stories this year to practice with. The two I've probably told most are my bear encounter tale and the First Nations fable of how the raven got blue eyes, both stories courtesy of my time in the Yukon. There's also the time I got a wasp under my shirt, but I don't like to think about that.

A big thing that helped me in this resolution was the group dinner structure at the research camp I worked at. Each evening, we had the chance to talk together about the events of the day, and there was a specific tradition of sharing 'Yays' (good things) or 'Nays' (bad things) that had happened. This was a great forum for practicing stories and getting reactions from a relatively large group of people (the wasp story, for example, went over well).

Have I actually learned anything about storytelling this year? Hard to say. The biggest lesson for me has been pacing-- describing things is important for setting the scene, but also for making sure the story beats come in at the right time. I personally like repeating a key phrase to mark the rhythm, but maybe that's just a crutch.

Of course, there's still a lot more to it and I doubt anyone ever got good at telling stories just by being analytical about it. However, I'm hopeful that with more practice I will continue to learn. With any luck, the three stories I mentioned will appear on this blog in the coming year, severed from their oral glory but hopefully still interesting. Should be a good year.