Storyteller
I recently watched Kate & Leopold (though I had seen it before). In it, Leopold tells a young boy the exciting tale of piracy and romance — as presented in Pirates of Penzance. (Reportedly, he tells it wrong, but that's unimportant.) He delivers his story with inflection, motion, and charm.
As you all know, I dream of writing forever. I am specifically trying to wrap my mind around crafting a creative writing class, so I have pulled out all my books on writing: On Writing by Stephen King, Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg, Active Voice by Stephen Tchudi, and a few others.
I started with On Writing because it already had a bookmark in it, and it had the most attractive cover of the bunch.
[Now, I have been lent three books by friends (at least three, though I may have lost one or more in my piles). My dear friends (if you are reading this), I have every intention to read these, but I hope you can allow me the priority of setting myself to writing and teaching writing.]
In his book so far, Stephen King has merely ambled through his past: stories about his mother, his brother, his schooling, and his attempts at getting published. Unlike some other books I've sampled, he doesn't say, "do this" or "do that." He admitted as much in his prefaces, but he is just plodding through his life in the hopes that the record may cast some light on establishing the craft of writing.
Between Leopold and Stephen, I am jealous. I admire the storyteller. I admire the man who can simply recount a tale: real or fictional. I'm getting there; I've tried my hand at a few extemporaneous stories that have been engaging if aimless. I'm getting there; more and more, I've been able to recall and retell some scenes from my past. It's a slow remembering, a slow reconciling with the past I suppose.
Another thing that consistently strikes me is how little I learn from self-help books. I thought The Purpose Driven Life was dreadful. It was one of the trudgiest books I've ever endured. Unfortunately, this was before my book-burning season, so that offense has survived and now wastes space on some unknown shelf. As much as I love C. S. Lewis, I don't remember much of Mere Christianity or The Abolition of Man. I plan on rereading them for the sake of duty, but they don't compel me.
On the other hand, I have grown far more from novels, from stories! Harry Potter's long tale. Ransom's space escapades. Justin and the people he loved. All of Redwall's adventures. Katniss, Tris, and Ender's wisdoms.
And then I look at the Bible, this funny 66-book book. I have heard some wish for direct commands, a checklist, a pack of rules to follow. However, God mostly approaches us with stories: long-winded, confusing stories about these crazy people that do crazy things, and God Himself does crazy things, and there's a lot of crazy.
I don't know what it means, but I'm glad my God is a storyteller.
I'm reading the Prophets right now which are especially crazy, but I LOVE that I know the craziness is important, because we are not supposed to focus just on the letter of Scriptures. There is a meaning, and it applies directly to the stories of our own lives! That means to me that translations that try to make sense of some of the stuff are barking up the wrong tree.
ReplyDeleteOften, it seems they are just barking up trees!
DeleteNathan! You are already such an engaging storyteller, and I’m sure all your efforts will only result in further refinement. Keep up the good work! One of my favorite verbal storytellers is Garrison Keillor. Time seems to stop when he tells a Lake Wobegon story.
ReplyDeleteAnd ah, yes, stories!! Life itself seems to consist of a series of stories bound together by a Master Storyteller who is wholly unlike any of us. My own story has had so many plot twists I know I never could have penned it. When I don’t like the story, I find comfort in the fact that the Master Storyteller who holds the pen is also my loving Heavenly Father, and the story is not finished yet. When I am confused by the story, I rest in the fact that the Master Storyteller knows what he’s doing.
It seems everything is a story with me, and I find myself constantly recounting stories from my life. What is the force that compels this? Perhaps it’s a way of trying to make sense of things, trying to wrap my little mind around the “crazy.” The story can’t possibly be crazy in a truly negative way, because it comes from God. But yet again, He is so wholly unlike any of us. His plans are not our plans, and as high as the heavens are above the earth, so are His ways higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). Perhaps recounting stories is a way of understanding where we came from, so that we have a sense of where we are headed. Stories give our lives meaning and purpose. Often storytelling is a means of connecting with someone else, of sharing one’s heart. Something so new is created when our smaller stories intersect. It can be so redeeming and enlightening when God uses one person’s story for good in the life of another (2 Corinthians 1:4).
I can get stuck in my own little, current story. Its threads can seem disconnected and random, but that’s only an illusion. When I lift up my eyes to look back, I see progress and growth. God HAS been doing something purposeful! When I look across to my neighbor, I see a whole new, fulfilling layer to His purpose. And when I look up, well, then I can only respond in awestruck wonder.
When one begins to ponder the intersections of each of our little stories into God’s larger, eternal story, the implications are mind-blowing. How can it be that the God of the universe invites us into His story (or “history,” as that clever play on words reminds us that God is the main character of it all)? And yet He chooses to use US to fulfill His plotline all the time, imbuing our little lives with an eternal meaning and purpose. How can it be that He loved us so much as to become part of humanity’s story in such an intimate way, humbling Himself in love in the incarnation? How can it be that this God would choose to connect with us by breathing out this 66-book book, telling us His story? Yes, the Bible tells us crazy stories indeed, and it’s only because God chose to tell us His story through the Word made flesh that we know His unfathomable heart.
Holy moly! It's a good thing you don't have your own blog. Otherwise, I wouldn't get these wonderfully thoughtful responses!
DeleteYou yourself tell engaging stories just in your comments.
I hope. I do hope some day you will have the opportunity to write at length in your own space. I would love to see your imaginings unfold unabridged.
Thank you for your kind words! Perhaps someday all the factors will align for me: a space of my own in which to write, the time to do so consistently, and the sense of calling to it. For now, I enjoy commenting on friends' blogs when the mood strikes. I enjoy the luxury of only commenting when I feel I have something to say! But your blog keeps providing good topics that make me want to speak up. Thank you! It's fun.
Delete