Storytelling Standards...

[paulnewman]

What do you think makes a good storyteller?

To get the ball rolling, I've thought of three things...

1) Fresh retelling.

I like it when the Storyteller make the telling fresh - using asides and comments that let you know the storyteller is not just remembering a pre-rehearsed script.

2) Imagination.

The reason I don't go to amateur dramatic performances is that I object to paying to watch people worry. In my opinion, even though a good storyteller may have nerves, they won't let their nerves interfere with their imaginative faculty. What I mean is, a storyteller inhabits the world of the story in their own mind and leads us to that place. Like the Shamiga - a storyteller in Robert Holdstock's Mythago Wood, who closes her eyes whilst telling the story to an audience in complete silence lest their interruptions change the shape of the characters in her mind. But unlike the Shamiga, I think a good Storyteller can...

3) Capture your imagination.

It is said that the Bards of old could defend themselves by the power of their word alone. Like Eminem at the end of 8 Mile where he eviscerates the other rapper in rhyme, I believe a good storyteller should be able not only to deal with hecklers but transform them and bind their tongues like Taliesin did at the court of Maelgwn.

What do you think makes a good storyteller?