While browsing signatures in an old elementary school yearbook, I came across something interesting. More than wishing me well, or saying they would never forget me, or exclaiming their joy at being the first one to sign my crack (yep, that one still makes me giggle), my classmates inevitably repeated one wish for me—one sixth-grade mantra: “Keep making up stuff. I love your ghost stories!”
By late elementary school some girls were known as brainiacs or cheerleaders, others as athletes, some as beauty queens. Me? I was the class storyteller. My forte? Ghost stories. Yep. Sixth-grade girl-version of Stephen King.
I told the classics—headless specters and haunted farmhouses, black velvet ribbon, the bloody hook. Kathryn Tucker Windham didn’t have jack on me. (Take that, Jeffrey!) And when I ran out of stories to tell, I made up new ones. I told stories on the bus, stories on the playground, and stories at the top of the gym bleachers. I told stories anytime my sixth-grade teacher let me stand up in front of the class. (God bless you, Mrs. P.)
Turns out, some people are inherently born storytellers. I am one of them. The question I pose to you is, “Are the terms storyteller and writer interchangeable?” If so, why? If not, in your opinion which aspect is more important, storytelling or writing?
Personally, I think storytellers are born and writers are made. Every storyteller has a story and if you are around them for more than five minutes, you are going to hear it. They can’t help it. It’s in their nature. It is who they are. Writers, on the other hand often take years to learn, practice, and master their craft. Solid writing takes natural talent, but I believe it is an acquired skill.
So, is MacLaney Blue a storyteller or a writer? I’d like to think I’m a little of both. What do you think? Check out my new book, The Heat, and give me your opinion. (Dang, how was that for a smooth transition into shameless-plug mode?)
ttyl guys,
Laney
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