Storytelling
I'm a storyteller. I think this is one of the reasons why I like writing. It's also one of the reasons why I like acting. And it's probably the main reason why I like reading and watching plays and films. All of these are forms of storytelling.
When it comes to reading, I have some say in different aspects of the characters. The writers provide me with some (but not all) information. I get to fill in the rest. (Fandoms call this headcanon.) When I write, I have total control of everything - except how my story gets interpreted by others. (Or the headcanons others make of my stories.) As an actor, I'm telling a story from my character's point of view - frankly, no one else's matters at that point. Well, unless it matters to my character.
There are two statements that hold true for every single storyteller I have ever encountered. And they hold true for me as well.
Everything any storyteller ever says is 100% honest.
Everything any storyteller ever says is 100% fabrication.
People have fought long and bloody wars because they don't understand what these statements mean. You see, for some reason, we equate honesty with truths and fabrication with lies. These are very narrow definitions of the words. You can be telling a bold-faced lie and still be honest. You can be telling the absolute truth, but since it is only from your point of view, it will always be a fabrication.
Let me give you an example: Let's take the first story of creation. (NOTE: This is the link to biblegateway. I love this site because it's a quick way to do a comparative analysis of various biblical texts. The direct link is to the NIV, but feel free to change it to whatever version you like.) In this version of the Creation Story, God creates the world in seven days. A literal reading will lead us to interpret day as 24 hours. An historical/scientific context would lead us to interpret it in a more general sense - say each day was 100,000 years, or quite literally 'an age' (IE the Ice Ages). The point being, Jews and Christians believe that God created the heavens and the Earth. Therefore, the first story of creation is both 100% honest (God did the creating) AND 100% a fabrication (how we define 'day').
I love the bible. (Not just because I'm Catholic and it's the story of my faith.) I love it because it is storytelling at its finest. If you want to learn to be a storyteller, read Genesis or Song of Songs (Song of Solomon). If you want to learn to write poetry, read the Psalms. If you want to really understand the stories in the bible, go hear a storyteller tell the stories presented in the bible. All of the works in the bible were handed down through oral traditions for (sometimes thousands of) years before they were ever written. They are meant to be proclaimed. They are meant to be shared orally. Even the new testament - for instance, the letters from Paul (among others), while initially written, were then memorised by the storytellers in the communities and then shared with others. It's not like Paul wrote 25 copies of the First Letter to the Corinthians, so that each house-church could read it. No. He wrote one letter and it was shared throughout the entire Corinth Community through storytelling.
The trick with storytelling is that it is always an interpretation. Even if you have the literal words of a letter, different words will be emphasised by different storytellers. The tone of voice used will be different. Think about Hamlet. What makes the "To be or not to be" soliloquy so amazing that it can never be heard enough? The actors deliver it differently each time. Each actor presents it in a different way. So it is with the Bible. Do we know the exact words Paul used in his different letters? Not really. We take it on faith that what was eventually copied and transcribed are the words that Paul wrote. What we have is the result of interpretations (and interpretations of interpretations if you're reading it in anything other than the original languages Paul wrote in). So it is 100% a fabrication.
And yet.
The bible is 100% honest. Paul's passion for Christ and the Christian way of life is honest. Paul's desire that people convert to Christ with their whole hearts and minds is honest. Paul's belief that "These three remain: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love" is honest.
Honesty and Fabrication have nothing to do with Truth or Lies.
A good storyteller cannot be anything other than honest. Dishonesty in storytelling can be spotted like a freight-train headed right towards you. (I could point to some of the writers in the various fandoms I'm interested in - both professional and 'fanfiction' for examples of this.) If a playwright or screenwriter is dishonest, it either takes a lot of work from the actors to 'fix it' or the actors can't fix it and you end up with a character or a story-line that your audience cannot enter into or connect with completely (or at all).
I've been accused of being 'too honest'. I'm not sure what that means, nor why this would be a bad thing. As a storyteller, it is a great compliment. On more than one occasion, I've been told that my storytelling opens people's eyes. It makes them think about things. It causes them to explore parts of themselves or their world they otherwise wouldn't. Again, this is a great compliment. And it's one of the reasons why I love to share my writing.
Apparently, I'm such a good storyteller, that I can make sorting screws (or filing, or scanning documents) sound like the most exciting and fun job anyone has ever done. Seriously. Take paint drying. Most people use the idea of 'watching paint dry' to be the most boring thing in the world. But let me tell you about paint drying: It's fascinating to watch as the colour turns different shades as it dries. As a complete process, sure it takes a very long time, but it's intriguing to think about. It's a slow process, but the entire thing that was painted transforms before your eyes as the paint dries. If it is an artistic painting, your entire piece of artwork is transformed simply because the paint is no longer wet. The dark colours become richer. The light colours become darker. (This is no different when you're painting a wall, by the way.) Yes, yes! Everyone should try watching paint dry at least once and enter into the experience of it. Sometimes you might find yourself transformed, even as the paint is.
That's the difference between hearing about paint drying from a storyteller verses anyone else. The mundane ordinary things in life become extraordinary when viewed through the eyes of a storyteller. And I would argue I'm not that gifted of one. I write because I enjoy it. I'm a storyteller, simply because I am one. But neither of those things means that I'm very good at either of them. Some people think I'm good at some aspects. But that's just opinion. I do the best I can and just kind of set the rest aside. It's all anyone can ask of me. (Even if I ask more of myself.)
So, if you ever meet a storyteller, don't criticise them or judge them because everything they say is 100% honest and 100% fabrication. Instead, pull up a chair, sit down and listen to them. You never know, you might learn something. At the very least, you should be entertained for a bit.