What I’m trying to focus on here is the ability to just be yourself when telling a story—the authenticity of not allowing external factors play a part in how you write or create a story. I find that when I am writing a story, I’m not truly happy unless I’m writing in my own style. Don’t get me wrong, I’m influenced all the time by books I read, films I watch and games I play, but when I try to write like someone else, I never feel as accomplished or happy with my story. Our own writing styles are built from influences and the things we like, but there’s a difference between just allowing yourself to write the way you want compared to fretting if your story is at the same level as another storytellers or sounds the same as someone else’s. We can easily fall into the trap of being called a copycat and losing our sense of self in our writing, and I think that sense of self and personalisation makes storytelling all the more special. In a previous blog post, I explained how being yourself in your writing is very important. It’s not just important to engage the reader or audience, but it’s important for us as storytellers so we can feel a part of the story. There’s something very special about reading a book you’ve written or watching a film or TV show you directed or wrote the script for where you can feel yourself in it. It not only helps us connect with our own storytelling more, but it also helps with keeping the tone, language, feeling and pretty much everything consistent throughout. It’s also something to love because we become very attached to the story and we can be proud of our names being put against it. This doesn’t have to only link to written works either. Talking to friends, family or someone in the line at the shops about something can have a bit more flare to it if you tell the story in your own way. It can make us feel under pressure to sound like someone else when we talk about what we’ve done in our day, but it’s relieving to let that pressure go and to just tell it how you want to. Then there’s the other side of it when we are the receiver of the story. Whether we’re reading a book, watching a film or playing a video game, we’re pretty good at picking up whether it is authentic to the person or people who were involved in its creation. It can really be the make or break of that story because it helps us connect to it more, which is really important for any story. Ultimately, a storyteller can connect with so many people by being authentically themselves when writing, creating or telling a story. It helps it come to life and provides the audience a little piece of that creator or creators. I don’t know about you but having that connection with my audience is amazing and something I strive for in everything I write—even these blog posts! What do you think? Are you someone who loves storytelling for experiencing the authentic or personal style of the storyteller? Let me know in the comments! That’s it from me. Remember to ignite the story and I’ll see you again soon!
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AuthorCharlotte is a reading and writing lover who has completed a creative writing intensive course at the University of Oxford and is a current university student studying a double degree in journalism and creative writing. If you are curious to learn more, check out the 'About' page. Archives
January 2019
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