I have a theory that I first applied to music some years ago.
And that is there are only two types of music – good and bad. It doesn’t matter
if it is rock, pop, soul or classical, there is good and bad in every genre.
The same is true of fiction. No one genre is better than another; what we must
look for and strive to achieve is not only good writing but also great
storytelling.
From talking to people who read as well as write, I have
been looking at the traits that make up the most effective storytellers. These
are the people who write with energy, who create light and shade in their
writing, who surprise themselves as well as the reader and avoid the perils of
monotony.
Great storytellers remember that, whether it is the writer’s
desire to provoke, shock, amuse or scare, he must also entertain. They must
have fun with their readers as they carry them through the story; with them, not at their expense.
The great storytellers are emotive in their writing. They pose
questions for us as readers to ponder, they create characters and scenarios
with which their readers will identify and care about, and are engaging enough to
draw their readers into the story and the worlds which they create. They make
us hang on their every word. They build suspense as they write; are
consistently unpredictable in the ways in which their stories unfold, and they
reflect the way life is as well as we might wish it to be. After all, how
predictable is every twist and turn in life?
“To Kill A Mockingbird” is a classic example; it addresses
important issues but carries us with it because we care about the injustice being
served on Tom Robinson and we invest emotionally in Finch’s morality and
determination to provide him with a defence against the odds. It is written
with sensitivity, humour and with warmth; it entertains yet it also asks questions
our priorities and values. It is as relevant today as it was when it was
written. It is a pattern that was used to equally great effect more recently in
John Boyne’s “The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas”. Another story of global
proportions personified in the simplistic eyes of two small boys, we begin to
sense what may be about to happen to both characters. Yet what reader cannot
sense the heartbreak rising within them for both Bruno and Shmuel as the story’s
denouement leaves them both as victims.
Of course, knowing this is no guarantee of being able to
carry it off. As writers all we can do is strive to do our best; to write with
honesty and with humanity and, of course, the most beautiful aspect of it all,
is that only our readers can ever say whether we have achieved it or not.
