Storytelling Masterclass: Tips from a poet on how to improve your writing

You’re here because you want to write a story. You want to grip your reader and take them on a journey. You want to show them the world from a different perspective. Maybe you are stood at the top of a dam, and you’d like the reader to stand there with you: wind in their hair, sun on their backs, the heady high of looking out upon all that water, all that harnessed power. Maybe you’d like to immerse them in the wonder you feel as you stare up at a cliff face, and millions of years of earth’s history are laid bare before you. Or maybe you are holding your phone, and thinking about all the raw materials mined out of the earth to make it – thinking: I want to write something that will inspire someone else to feel the awe I am feeling right now.

But how can you do that?

Everybody has their own unique writing style, and while this style can be honed and tailored, it should never be moulded into something unrecognisable. Your unique style is what makes your stories yours, and – in part – it is your unique style that will make your writing interesting to others. Nobody wants to read writing without a voice, without a personality. So, this isn’t a masterclass that will tell you exactly how to write, or what to write. Instead, this class is a gentle wander through the poetic techniques that you can use to enhance your storytelling. Take what you want to and leave what doesn’t work for you. And, most importantly, as you test out the following techniques in your own work, allow yourself to feel that wonderful spark of creating.

Why poetry?

Before we walk through the techniques you can use to improve your writing, I want to try (as best as I can) to explain why poetry can be used to improve storytelling.

‘Poetry’ encompasses a wide range of writing styles, from traditional rhyming verse to free verse that lacks any predictable rhythm or rhyme. What all good poetry has in common, though, is (1) the evocation of emotion in the reader, and (2) an ambiguity that means each reader can find a different (often personal) message in the poem. These both result in a unique connection between the reader and the poet.

While storytelling through prose is often very different from writing poetry, some of the techniques that poets use can enhance prose. What readers want in all cases is connection with the writing. To be hooked, to be taken on a journey, to feel something while reading. Poets are constantly honing their writing to achieve this aim, often in as few words as possible. The techniques they use are therefore highly valuable across genres. So, without further delay, here are five poetic techniques you can try out in your own storytelling.

Five Techniques to Try Technique 1: Slow Down

“Make a place to sit down.
Sit Down. Be quiet
…
Accept what comes from silence” – from How to be a Poet (to remind myself) by Wendell Berry

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/41087/how-to-be-a-poet

I often think of poetry as emerging from the in-between. In-between speech, in-between movement, in-between thoughts. It is the ideas, the images and the emotions that arise – usually unexpectedly – from the space between the worlds and words we inhabit.

It can take some time to know how to access these in-between spaces. To begin, I recommend taking Wendell Berry’s advice: make a place to do nothing. While sitting and doing nothing (as Wendell recommends) can work well, I am constantly restless when I am still. So, for me, walking aimlessly works best. Wherever you create your ‘place of nothing’, have a notebook with you. Importantly, though, don’t force yourself to write.

You might already have an idea of what story you’d like to tell. Indeed, if you’re entering the storytelling competition, then it’s likely that you’ve already got a good plan of what you’re going to say. But creating and accessing the in-between space is still valuable. Our creativity is highest when we allow ourselves to daydream, and to feel free to explore avenues of thought we haven’t gone down before.

Good storytelling is a lyrical dance. You should lead your reader to move in ways they would never have moved without your words. But, just like in dance, the uninhabited space is as important as the inhabited space. Leave space for the reader to create their own meaning. Let them feel their way to the point you are making, rather than just handing it over to them. In this way, they will connect to your words in a way they never could have otherwise.

“Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader – not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon” – E.L. Doctorow

You might be thinking, okay – that sounds great, but how do I do that? And it’s a great question. Your secret weapons here are metaphors, similes and unusual, emotive descriptions.

Metaphor: using one thing to describe something else, that is often seemingly unrelated.

“The glass house is a hole in the rain,
the sun’s chapel,
a bell for the wind” – The Glass House by Alice Oswald, from The Thing in the Gap-Stone Stile

https://voetica.com/voetica.php?collection=15&poet=798&poem=6573

Alice Oswald uses metaphor here to describe a glass house. She could have said The rain does not fall where the glass house is; the glass house lights up in the sun; the glass house rattles when the wind blows but would this have evoked the same stark imagery in the readers mind? Would it have been as memorable or as interesting?

Simile: similar to metaphor, but likening one thing to another using either like or as.

“Picture a grave
Picture six feet freshly dug
The sharp temporary walls at the long-term cliff edge of the world
Light and air find some new deepness there and usher down the sky” – Through Me (The Flood) by Hozier

https://genius.com/Hozier-through-me-the-flood-lyrics

Hozier’s words are from a song, rather than a poem. In this verse, he is describing a grave. He commands his audience: Picture this. Such commands can be a useful way to grab the attention of a reader. He then describes a grave in fairly simple language (“picture six feet freshly dug”). But then, the description turns to something more unusual, more striking. We are drawn into imagining air sinking deep into the grave and pulling the whole sky down with it, and we are left with so much more than a description of a grave. We are drawn into feeling the claustrophobia and terror of being caught under a collapsing sky.

“My heart dresses in black
and dances” – After Reading Lucretius, I Go To The Pond by Mary Oliver, from Blue Horses

http://aviaryhistory.blogspot.com/2018/04/mary-olivers-birds-in-blue-horses-poems.html

Here, Mary Oliver is writing about feeling grief and joy simultaneously. She personifies the heart, and through it communicates the juxtaposition of her emotions. I have never read a more memorable or evocative line about this feeling that we all know so well.

These literary devices help with the flow and readability of your writing, and using them will help keep your reader gripped.

Assonance: the repetition of short vowel sounds

“Clownlike, happiest on your hands,
Feet to the stars, and moon-skulled,
Gilled like a fish. A common-sense
Thumbs-down on the dodo’s mode.
Wrapped up in yourself like a spool,
Trawling your dark as owls do.” – from You’re by Sylvia Plath

Alliteration: the repetition of letters between words

“Water—calm, sliding green above the weir;
Water—a sky-lit alley for his boat,
Bird-voiced, and bordered with reflected flowers
And shaken hues of summer: drifting down,
He dipped contented oars, and sighed, and slept.” – The Death Bed by Siegfried Sassoon

Rule of three: groups of three items are more memorable than longer or shorter lists. Once you know about the rule of three, you’ll see it everywhere.

“Under the moongrey nettles, the black mould
And muttering rain.” – from She Weeps Over Rahoon by James Joyce

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=13885

I’ve used the rule of three multiple times throughout this masterclass. It is a common literary device that is simple but very effective. I don’t know the reason why humans prefer things to be grouped in three, but I do know that it works!

Technique 4: Rhythm

Creating rhythm in writing isn’t for everyone, but it can often be used to 1) keep your reader interested in moving forward through your story and 2) make your writing more memorable. At the extreme end of using rhythm in storytelling is spoken word poetry. Watch the videos below to watch how this is done.

Using assonance, alliteration, rules and three and rhyme all work to your advantage as a spoken-word artist, but they also help to create rhythm in written work. Even if you’re not keen on trying spoken word, try using assonance, alliteration, rules of three and the occasional rhyme in your writing and then read it out loud. Can you hear how rhythm is created, and how this pulls you forward through the text? Remember: rhythm can be subtle. Think of it as the flow of water – sometimes it is a raging river that pulls you onward, but sometimes it is the gentle and unpredictable beat of light rain. Although different, both types can help to keep your reader interested.

Technique 5: Distil

This is simple: distil your writing; get rid of any excess words. Again, this doesn’t work for everyone’s writing style, but I do recommend giving it a go even if you don’t think it will work for you. You may hate the result, and feel that your unique voice has been sucked out of your writing. If that’s the case, ignore this technique: it is not for you. On the other hand, you might see that deleting excess words removes the ‘noise’ from your writing and amplifies your voice. Either way, try it out: get rid of any word you can while still retaining sense and meaning. Read it back to yourself. Figure out if you like what you see.

Putting these techniques into practice

Now you have these writing techniques in mind, I recommend trying them out. Some may not work for you and your story, and that’s fine – part of creative writing is understanding what does and does not work for your unique style.

Why not create your ‘place of nothing’ – a seat by a window, an aimless walk – and let your mind wander. Write down the seeds of ideas that come to you, then start to expand them.

As you expand your ideas, test out the techniques above. Ask yourself: Am I leaving space for the reader to dance with me, and connect to my words? Am I describing things in a unique way, or am I taking the easy – and less interesting route – of cliché? Does using alliteration, assonance and the rule of three improve the flow of the writing? Could I create some rhythm? Can I get rid of any words without compromising my message, and does it still feel like my own story?

When you’re happy with your piece of writing, you could pass it to a friend or family member to read over. Ask them for honest feedback. Be open to criticism and use it to improve your work. But also, feel free to disregard what they say if you really don’t agree. You are the master of your story after all, and the most important thing is that it is your unique voice leading the dance.

Geoscience Everyday competition

Practice your new skills and enter our Geoscience Everyday Competition to be in with a chance of winning £150! Closing date: 21st August 2023… find our more here . Good luck!

Source: https://blog.geolsoc.org.uk/2023/06/07/storytelling-masterclass-tips-from-a-poet-on-how-to-improve-your-writing/