So You Want A Fandom [#Publishing] [#MarketResearch]

Storytelling Like Mad

The previous articles in this book comprise a factual overview of the publishing industry. I wanted to get the basics out of the way, since that's the framework in which my musings are set.

Everything from here on out is just my opinion. You're going to see op-ed pieces and personal anecdotes.

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I think of myself as primarily a storyteller. I'm a storyteller first, and a writer second.

If you're wondering whether there is any substantial difference between writing and storytelling, here is an analogy:

A cinematographer loves the act of capturing beauty in a hyperrealistic and focused way, on screen. That's the aspect of film making which they're most drawn to. A director, however, loves the act of telling a story to an audience. They're both film makers, but one is a storyteller and one is not.

Another analogy: Some painters love the technical challenge of capturing the fluid reality around them. Other painters are interested in conveying a mood, or a theme, and never mind reality. In other words, the latter types are storytellers.

I believe there are writers who enjoy the technical challenges of crafting good prose over the act of telling a story. A poet, for instance, is likely interested in conveying sensory detail, and provoking a mood, rather than in mastering the three-act structure and other conventions of storytelling.

All serious writers aim to master the technical challenges of prose, otherwise known as the craft of writing. But I don't think prose craft is a storyteller's prime objective.

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Sometimes a storyteller requires a bit of experimentation to figure out which medium best suits their goals. There are writers who started out as film makers. There are game designers who began as creative fiction majors in college. Quite a few novelists give screenwriting a try, or vice versa; one well-known example of that is George R.R. Martin.

I think storytellers exist in every field of the arts. Some are drawn to a particular medium, and writing is only one of many mediums.

Why did I choose writing?

It was not an active choice on my part. I did bang out a few rough novels when I was a preteen, but I also drew a series of underground comics, joined the theatre club in high school, and went to an animation college.

Throughout my 20s, I lived and breathed art. I drew for 8+ hours per day. One of my animated short films got screened at the Annecy International Film Festival, in France. Another one got screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, along with student films by much more famous people, such as the creator of the SpongeBob TV show.

I landed a job as an animator at a game studio in Los Angeles county. I worked my way up to being an art director, and devoted a lot of time to Nickelodeon games for Leapfrog and Nintendo platforms.

I yearned to work my way into Pixar Animation Studios. I fantasized about climbing their corporate ladder until I would reach the top, where I would then become the next Brad Bird, directing original films such as The Iron Giant and The Incredibles. In my imagination, I was destined to become the first female animation feature film director.

Except I would make feature films that were my own original stories.

I wanted the games I was working on to be based on my own stuff, rather than adaptations of someone else's creation. I wanted that so badly, it hurt. My storytelling instinct refused to shut up.

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Okay, so Pixar wasn't hiring. Neither was Disney Feature Animation. All the major studios were in a recession. And years later, when they were hiring, they clearly hired students with fresh demo reels which demonstrated the latest toolsets. By that point, my demo reel was old and stale. I was an expert in low poly walk cycles and attack animations for video game characters, not feature film quality stuff.