Throughout the ages, story-telling has had a place of enormous importance in the development of society and the chronicling of life. Stories were told to remember deeds or people, as cautions against the world, to keep alive a conquered culture, and merely as a way to pass the time. Those who could orally tell a good tale have been revered. Once writing came along, scribes and literacy were at first kept for the upper class; but literate or not, the stories were told. Sometimes they were told orally, sometimes they were told in quilts, sometimes in pictures, sometimes in song. But always, stories are told. As a species, it is what we do.
One of my favorite movie lines is at the beginning of "Braveheart"--'History is written by the victors'. If you think about that, it oozes of stories untold or unremembered, aches with the adage that there are two sides to every tale. Respectfully, I submit there are more than two sides to every tale and that often the untold tales are the more interesting. I hope to tell the stories that have remained silent, about those nearly forgotten, to bring light into the dark corners of the past and breathe life into the ghosts that linger there.
To me, the best stories combine fact and lore. A skillful weaving of truth and possibility into a delectable morsel of food for thought--this, to me, is the hallmark of a great story. The ability to transport the reader or listener to another time or place imparting both knowledge and imagination is indeed a true gift. I hope that I have enough of that gift to share.
As I work to establish myself as a writer, I am mindful of the responsibility before me. I owe it to the writers before me to carry on their legacy with skill, grace and passion. And I owe it to everyone to be a wordsmith worthy of those about whom I write, fictional or real. I hope to be up to the task. And I am counting on you, my friends, to keep me honest.
One of my favorite movie lines is at the beginning of "Braveheart"--'History is written by the victors'. If you think about that, it oozes of stories untold or unremembered, aches with the adage that there are two sides to every tale. Respectfully, I submit there are more than two sides to every tale and that often the untold tales are the more interesting. I hope to tell the stories that have remained silent, about those nearly forgotten, to bring light into the dark corners of the past and breathe life into the ghosts that linger there.
To me, the best stories combine fact and lore. A skillful weaving of truth and possibility into a delectable morsel of food for thought--this, to me, is the hallmark of a great story. The ability to transport the reader or listener to another time or place imparting both knowledge and imagination is indeed a true gift. I hope that I have enough of that gift to share.
As I work to establish myself as a writer, I am mindful of the responsibility before me. I owe it to the writers before me to carry on their legacy with skill, grace and passion. And I owe it to everyone to be a wordsmith worthy of those about whom I write, fictional or real. I hope to be up to the task. And I am counting on you, my friends, to keep me honest.
No comments:
Post a Comment