Artyness columnist and writer Barbara Henderson recommends the art of storytelling – and honing your skills
We all know a raconteur. Does anyone spring to mind for you? A natural storyteller? I am talking about the kind of person you want at a dinner party (remember those?), making everyone laugh.
One of the natural storytellers in my life is our friend Andy who always – always! – has an entertaining story up his sleeve. It doesn’t take long. A single word or remark can set him off and you’re in for trip down memory lane. Stomach aching from laughing, you’ll leave with a new set of reels in your little head-cinema which kicks in whenever we are presented with a new story. Our imagination translates words into images. Good storytelling is vivid, as if you’d been there yourself.
As you read this, National Storytelling Week will be under way. As a writer, I tend to tell stories on paper. However, there is nothing more satisfying than seeing a roomful of children LISTEN to a story, whether told, or read aloud. You can practically hear the clickety-click of the reels in their individual head-cinemas turning as they imagine a Victorian fire burning out of control, or a night-time chase high on a remote mountain ridge.
I am fascinated by the history of storytelling traditions – particularly the days when people, all hard-wired for story like us, had nothing but their minds and their mouths.
Oral storytelling is the origin of many iconic stories we are still familiar with today. Robin Hood tales, for example, began as medieval ballads, passed on at festivals and performed in the streets. Alongside music, rhyme and rhythm, drama was often used to aid recall, with costumed performances increasingly common. Or cast your mind back to cave paintings, Greek myths, 1001 Nights, and the first printed story (the epic of Gilgamesh carved into city walls). Norse sagas, collected fairy tales… the list goes on.
Thankfully, the art is still alive today, and we must nurture it. What power there is in a story well told! It’s the nearest thing to magic I can think of!
I remember watching local storyteller Bob Pegg utterly mesmerise a bunch of young people at an outdoor, nature-themed storytelling session – including my own brood.
But wait! Perhaps stories have been associated with young people for too long. Why should the kids have all the fun? Not long ago, I had the privilege of attending one of Badenoch Heritage’s excellent Storylands Sessions. These wonderful gatherings are community focused, informal get-togethers complete with workshops – next one on February 8 will be led by Nick Fearne (pictured) of Dingwall, TFX teacher and book festival organiser for Dingwall’s Word On The Street.
These events return to in-person at the gorgeous Loch Insh Boathouse. The food, take it from me, is very good! Exercise your storytelling muscle, let the magic begin!
Link: eventbrite.co.uk/e/storylands-sessions-storytelling-workshop-6-get-up-stand-up-tickets-256199649047
