Who’s telling the story?
Yes, Who should be telling the story.
No, who is it that’s telling us the story?
Right. Who.
The style of writing we’re doing here in the writing track at Salt falls somewhere in the realm of creative non-fiction, narrative non-fiction, and documentary journalism. What we write is meant to tell a true story on an up close an intimate level, while also maintaining a level of craft and artistry. We approach our subjects with the idea that their stories and experiences are inherently valuable, and that they need to be told. But how should that figure into our craft?
For my approaches and issues archive project, I read a piece about a Shaker Community in a Salt magazine from 1984. The article included the stories and voices of quite a few members of that community, creating almost a montage. The tension in the story came from the discoveries the writer made as she navigated her way through this community. On her first visit, she arrives with a non-electric tape recorder, unsure whether Shakers use electricity. Her interviewee kindly calls her out on this assumption, and the reader comes to realize with her that we have lots of incorrect assumptions about what Shakers are all about.
I really appreciated this about her piece, in particular because I think the alternative would have been to impose a narrative structure on the community, which might have limited the breadth of the article, and created a tension in places where there wasn’t any. I guess I am just dealing with my desire to document things that I think are inherently interesting, with the need to wrap all that information around a through-line or conflict. But at what point does that kind of structure impose on reality? And can introducing a first person perspective enhance a piece or be a vehicle to connect with readers or create immediacy? Or does it take away from the sense letting our subjects speak? Or can it be a way to actively listen?
So I just want to know, what’s the point of view?
What? No, uh What’s dramatic irony.
Who?
No! Who’s telling the story.
That’s what I want to know!
I think if the answer to “who” is somehow “Kristen” then we’re in good hands. You’re gonna be an amazing writer!
Wait, I mean you already are.
I like the way you’ve focused in on each bit. Lots of smiling, appreciated bodies here today.