World Storytelling Day

What do a suitcase and an umbrella have in common? As we slogged through our years of homeschooling, my daughters and I occasionally lightened up the day with a storytelling game. We each scribbled some random words on slips of paper, stirred them a basket, and then withdrew two or three to start a story round robin. It was a fun way to finetune and finesse our storytelling genes.

On March 20 we celebrate World Storytelling Day. I wish every time I wrote or told a story it could be like sitting down to share with family and friends over fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies and a mug of café con leche.

“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller.” –attributed to Steve Jobs

So what tale did I spin with “suitcase” and “umbrella”? Of course I immediately packed for an epic journey to the Chiloé Islands (southern Chile). They say it rains eight days a week there, so I could use the umbrella too—if the wind didn’t turn it inside out.

The Best Stories

With “shoes, “clock,” and maybe “pumpkin,” the Brothers Grimm might have come up with Cinderella. Which, incidentally, is my favorite fairy tale of all time (although Beauty and the Beast runs a close second). My daughters consider it the corniest version ever, but I just love Rodgers & Hammerstein’s original musical. Lesley Ann Warren in that sparkly, swirly white dress with the ermine collar? Now that’s my idea of a ball gown.

“Cinderella is proof that a new pair of shoes can change your life.” –Anonymous

Not long ago, I re-encountered a couple of middle-grade stories from my childhood, Fog Magic by Julia L. Sauer and Shadow Castle by Marian Cockrell. Their fantasy settings and simple plots might not appeal to you. But I confess they enchanted me all over again.

As the best stories should and do. Why else do Narnia and Middle-Earth and Prince Edward Island enjoy such enduring popularity?  Like the Bible narratives, the best storytelling only sharpens and deepens over time.

As a young writer, I always wanted to create my own novel-length Cinderella story. Recently I realized I have my rendition in Joy Ride, the second installment in my storytelling of the life of Angélica De la Cruz. In my earlier books, Angie is a mature secondary character, but in the Legends of Chiloé series, elements of her legendary life certainly combine to weave a modern-day fairy tale.

Much of the Chilean reality I’ve turned into stories falls into the realm of “stranger than fiction”: Earthquakes and eruptions, poaching and piracy, false accusations, superstition, discrimination. Myths and murders, terrorism and torture, human trafficking. Because most news portrays only one side of Chile—or any country’s issues, for that matter—we often learn and understand better through storytelling. It’s a voice that captivates rather than overwhelms.

The How of Storytelling

Writing podcaster Lord Tea, inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien’s style, shares four parts to a good approach to storytelling. I’m adapting here for us:

Soil. Language is the base from which a good story springs. The words we use are crucial. Our personal history and passions provide a fertile background in which to grow stories.

Roots. The story world, whether realistic or purely fantastic, must be grounded in a consistent setting. This keeps us bound under the story’s spell.

“It’s not how good you are; it’s how well you tell your story.” –Unknown

Growth. Every experience, every lesson, every emotion…all contribute to the flourishing of our storytelling gift. The more we’ve done and felt, the better we can communicate a story.

Pruning. Sometimes we storytellers can say too much. Here’s where we need to learn to let the listener or reader use their imagination to fill in the details. Cut away—or just stop. Leave the audience with something to think about.

This is the art and craft of storytelling.

The Tragedy of Aliteracy

In my current work-in-progress, Legacy of the Linnenbrink Light, the main character Cristina is a struggling teacher on an isolated island of Chiloé. In her attempts to teach her students to read better and enjoy it, she exercises a gift for storytelling that changes the world for those teens. I foresee a future as a literacy advocate for Cristina as the story world unfolds.

Have you ever heard of Frank Laubach, an American missionary to the Philippines? While serving on a remote island, he developed a reading program called “Each One Teach One.” Called the Apostle to the Illiterates, Laubach became the most influential literacy advocate of his time. He is the only missionary to be honored on a U. S. postage stamp (the Great Americans series, 1984).

Years ago, as Spanish language students on the Mexican border of Texas, my husband and I learned Laubach’s literacy method in preparation for our work in the Chiloé Islands. Sure enough, like Cristina, we met plenty of Chilotes—old and young—who either could not read at all or read at only third or fourth grade level. Some improved with practice.

“Food for the mind……is any kind of reading at all.” –Unknown

However, a different—but related—problem for Cristina, and one of greater concern for me these days, is aliteracy. If you’ve read much on Seaglass Blog, you’ll remember that it breaks my heart when people who can read DON’T and WON’T. Aliteracy is frequently cited as a “rising” problem in developed societies.

Here in Chile, it’s burgeoning. I used to find many women my age (when we were young) who had barely read or analyzed anything since high school (or grade school!) Perhaps the Bible—and that’s far from a bad thing—but their minds had generally remained stunted and puny. Their universe was limited to the scope of soap operas and talk shows. (No, sadly, I’m not kidding.)

The Need for Storytelling

Today, we’ve moved beyond television to death by digital distraction—smartphones, social media, endless streaming. The average person in our Chilean church reads little beyond WhatsApp messages, stickers, the odd meme or verse, and Facebook posts, IF very short. Oh, and illegible prayer requests.

Our electronic culture emphasizes audio and visual media over text. All the information we need arrives fast, furious—and fragmented. The investment in the long form of reading a book seems to require too much time, exertion, and focus in our high-stress environments. “Just give me the video,” my younger friends beg.

“If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.”
―Rudyard Kipling, Captains Courageous

Obviously, as a writer on an online platform, I’m no technology hater. But I’m afraid—and sorry—to think that so many people I love are in danger of becoming functional illiterates. Equally as vital as basic proficiency in reading is pleasure in reading.

Aliteracy reduces critical thinking, empathy, creativity, and even general knowledge. That’s why we must develop our storytelling skills. And story reading muscles.

Why Read?

It’s fun! I started to make a list of reasons, and that’s the first one I came up with. To me, stories also…

• Spark joy and allow you to escape both boredom and (sometimes) painful realities.
• Permit you to experience alternative worlds or circumstances—without the cost or the danger.
• Help you to develop as a person and explore your interests.
• Help you to understand others with more clarity and kindness.
• Open your eyes to the whole world and all its marvelous variety of cultures.
• Can help you grow in faith, hope, and love.
• Nudge you toward greater creativity and imagination.
• Give you encouragement and optimism as you face challenges and difficulties.
• Lead you to a balanced perspective or alternative view of controversial topics.
• Develop independence and decision-making abilities as you choose what to spend time on.

And stories teach us how to deal successfully with our personal problems. I’m sure I learned some cool competence from Nancy Drew, believe it or not. But as a nerdy adolescent, these misfits showed me the way to graceful maturity: Anne Shirley (of Green Gables), Meg Murray (A Wrinkle in Time), and Kit Tyler (The Witch of Blackbird Pond).

“Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today.” –Robert McKee

Shall we can keep going? The storytelling professionals would remind us that reading stories…

• Builds our brain with an enlarged vocabulary.
• Enables us to have better-informed conversations.
• Teaches us about the rest of the world and expands horizons.
• Increases our focus and memory, a tool to aid with ADHD.
• Can expand our participation and activism in the community.
• Improves writing and critical thinking skills, as well as other academics.
• Grows curiosity, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and empathy for others.
• Teaches time mastery.
• Builds self-confidence.
• Can make us laugh!

A Culture of Storytelling

That seems like a LOT of good reasons to read stories, doesn’t it?

“The fantastic and the imaginative aren’t escapism… Good stories introduce the marvelous. The whole story, paradoxically, strengthens our relish for real life. This excursion sends us back with renewed pleasure to the actual world. It provides meaning… It takes us out of ourselves and lets us view reality from new angles. It expands our awareness of the world.” –Patti Callahan, Once Upon a Wardrobe

Frank Laubach became a pioneer promoter of Maranao literature. He was amazed by the rich literary legacy of oral storytelling of this Filipino Muslim ethnic group. Their lyrics, legends, and epics [long narrative poetry] only existed in the memories of the people until he and others began to write them down.

Happy World Storytelling Day! Let’s slow down, lean back, and thrill to the joy of storytelling. Whether on the couch, around the campfire, or tucked into bed—whether oral or written—let’s read or tell some stories today.

Now this storyteller must get back to the story-in-progress. Not Cinderella, but something about luggage and a lot of rain, wasn’t it?