I asked Boy Prince this morning if he knew the difference between a writer and a storyteller. He did not.
He reciprocated the inquiry and I was unable to answer him right away; though I reassured him that there is a difference.
Throughout the day I have been considering the possibilities, and it strikes me that none are very satisfying. Let me explain.
A simple construct: A writer is someone who can put words to facts and weave facts together in a compelling and interesting manner; while a storyteller is someone who can put words to imagination and weave imagined facts together in a compelling and interesting manner.
I see a failure with this description. It could easily be said that writers scribe non-fiction and storytellers write fiction. That just doesn't cut it. Writers can certainly enter the world of the stretched & filtered truth, while storytellers can inspire a nation with compelling factual content.
So, perhaps the difference is more nuanced. What if it actually depends on the scribe herself? In as much as we cannot know the exact location of a quantum particle and the direction and velocity of it's movement at the same time (oh wait, wrong blog...). It may be the self description of the person creating the work that determines their category. I desperately want to be a storyteller; so if I say I'm a storyteller, then I'll be a storyteller.
Now the failure is, for obvious reasons, in the objectivity of the measurement.
So we're left with a third possibility. The reader makes the decision. I, as a reader, have decided that Edward Rutherfurd is a writer. In my best SNL Weekend Update impression, Really?
Well folks, it seems I have come to no good answer for Boy Prince. Writer? Storyteller? Is there really a difference? I'd love to read your thoughts.
Sid.