Not all storytellers are writers.

Let’s start by asking some questions. Does writing a story make you a writer? Is a writer a cog in a machine or can a writer be singular?

I think of myself as a storyteller. I research, construct and edit. The story flows as I type with only street signs guiding me to my last line. My world on the page contains grammatical errors, no matter how much I edit. I tell the story, the visual idea knocking at the front of my cranium begging to be heard as it is.

It takes me about a year to write one story. Editing, re-reading, doubt and self-loathing are part of the process. My after-story, the push to gather readers, remains woeful. Yet, I continue to enjoy giving life to characters, creating air and land and spaces yet to be imagined.

I think of writers as people with ideas. They are storytellers plus. They outline the idea, construct and structure then pass these ideas to scholars, design artists and advertising departments. The critique of the various editors helps them revise the structure and eradicate the grammatical tomfoolery that would otherwise rinse their work. A group effort is made to sell the idea, package it so that it is noticed on the shelf. The original story still holds, in a more saleable form.

It’s true to say that I have not sought to become a writer. They say rejection is part of the process. Maybe one day I will take that leap. On a sunny day I will step from the mountain ledge onto a cloud to see if it will hold. Or will I? Do I owe it to my characters that they live through as many readers as possible or is it enough that they have life?