The Purpose of Storytelling is Communication (If You Aren't Doing That, Fix It)

When we write a story, whether it's a piece of short fiction or a massive doorstop of a novel, we often get wrapped up in what we were trying to do as the storyteller. Whether it's the lovingly crafted purple prose, the intricate plot twists and reveals, or the unique patois we used for how we chose to write it, these are usually very specific decisions we make as creators for how we want to present our stories.

The problem comes when the people you're writing those stories for aren't picking up what you're laying down. Because when that happens, you need to do something to make sure that what you're saying is what your audience is actually hearing.

Hmmm... is "apocrypha" a well-known enough word to use here?

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Listening Is Just As Important As Speaking

To get the obvious out of the way, there are different dialects in any language. There are different styles of prose, and there are different expectations that come with different genres. This post is not saying that we must always use Proper English (TM) and write in the same, easily-digested style or we are Writing Wrong (TM). Sometimes you want to speak to a particular audience, or you feel that the language you're using is part of the artistry of your story, and to change it would be to lose something the book needs.

All of that is down to artistic decision. This is your book, and you are the one with the final say in how it's presented to the public.

With that said, though...

With that said, if your audience cannot understand what you are saying, then it's up to you as the creator to say it in a way so your story isn't lost on people trying to read your book.

Communication is a two-way street, and you could be telling the most amazing story your audience has ever heard... but if you're telling it in French, than anyone who doesn't speak that language isn't going to be able to access that story. The same is true if you publish something exclusively in Braille, or if it's only written in cursive, or Cyrillic. For a communication cycle to be complete, the message you're delivering has to be translated, and understood by the intended recipient. And for most of us that's the widest audience possible so that we can sell enough books to pay the bills.

It is an almost universal experience to work really hard on a story, or a book, and when you hand it to your beta readers to have someone scratch their head going, "I don't get it," or, "what the hell do all these $5 words mean?" Sometimes it's because a given beta reader isn't familiar with the language of a particular genre (such as someone who doesn't normally read cosmic horror trying to figure out what eldritch and squamous mean without looking them up), or it might be because the way you write isn't intuitive to the general public. But there's always a knee-jerk reaction to place the blame on the audience; to say that you did everything right, but they're just not listening correctly.

The truth of the matter is, we need the audience for our stories to spread. So while it is important to keep the soul of the story in mind, and to be careful when it comes to changing the way you use language, it's also important to keep the practical aspect of, "Can they understand what I'm saying?" firmly in mind. Because at the end of the day, writers need an audience, and it is our job to provide entertainment for them. Because there are already hundreds of stories out there they can read instead... so make understanding yours as easy on them as you can.

Even if that means we have to use plainer language to meet our audience where they're at.

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