I came to writing novels late in life but I was born to be a storyteller. It came naturally. I’m an enrolled member of the Kiowa Tribe, known as the Orators of the Plains. Like most Plains Indian Tribes, the Kiowa did not have books documenting our history, legends or important events. Instead, we had stories shared from one generation to the next—an oral memory chain.
Storytelling has always been a major aspect of Native American lives. Through storytelling history is absorbed, legends are shared, norms are taught and cultures are preserved. Storytelling continues to be important today for most Native peoples. Stories honor ancestors, entertain while teaching the young and maintain connections to a rich heritage.
Native Americans tell stories through oral traditions including spoken words, songs, dance and drumming. Like a song or dance, compelling stories must have rhythm. It is a story’s rhythm that creates the logical pace and emotional ride necessary for an entertaining story. In storytelling, rhythm is felt in the telling through the use of voice, subtle intonations, timely pauses, descriptive gestures, and pacing. The best storytellers can paint vivid verbal pictures while spinning a tale or recounting an historical event.
Oral traditions were shared by Tribe Historians, holders of specialized knowledge and also by grandparents recounting tales to grandchildren. In this way the culture and traditions were passed and preserved from generation to generation. z
My earliest memories are of my grandfather, his sisters and brother sharing Kiowa stories and songs. The elders all used the old Plains Indian-style sign language unconsciously while speaking in Kiowa or English. In either language, their hands flew in accompaniment to their words, adding a hypnotic show to the already rhythmic story unfolding. The rhythm of their stories captivated me while teaching me how to be Kiowa.
My great-aunt came every Friday with a treat, songs and a story. But it was my grandpa, our Tribe Historian who was the master storyteller. He was a showman. Grandpa enthralled listeners with his words, natural pace, breath-taking pauses and well-timed gestures as he told powerful stories from our Kiowa past.
Grandpa made me feel the story.
In oral traditions or with written words, every story needs to have rhythm. The rhythm of a story works to capture and hold attention, creates mood, highlights thoughts and ideas, and builds unity.
Storytelling rhythm is achieved through flow and pacing. Mark Twain was a natural storyteller and a master of pacing. He spoke of the value of the pause in storytelling. “The pause is an exceedingly important feature in any kind of story, and a frequently recurring feature, too. It is a dainty thing, and delicate, and also uncertain and treacherous; for it must be exactly the right length—no more and no less—or it fails of its purpose and makes trouble. If the pause is too short the impressive point is passed, and the audience have had time to divine that a surprise is intended—and then you can’t surprise them, of course.”
Twain ever the realist added, “I like a good story well told. That is the reason I am sometimes forced to tell them myself.”
There is a natural rhythm in good stories—oral or written. For the written story, rhythm is created through well-placed commas, short sentences, fragments, short and long paragraphs and chapters with varying lengths.
Master storyteller, Stephen King in his 2010 memoir On Writing talks about creating pace in stories: “Pace is the speed at which your narrative unfolds—Move too fast and you risk leaving the reader behind, either by confusing or by wearing him/her out—Move too slow and you risk boring them.”
King’s writing never bores. His stories unfold each in their own unique rhythm. Like an oral storyteller, King employs long, descriptive sentences early in his stories to fully develop characters and paint rich scenes. As suspense or tension mounts, King switches to short, quick sentences to increase the pace and readers’ heart beats.
King talks of the value of sentence fragments: “It is possible to overuse the well-turned fragment but frags can also work beautifully to streamline narration, create clear images, and create tension as well as to vary the prose-line.”
Varying paragraph lengths are key to the rhythm of King’s stories. “In fiction, the paragraph is less structured—it’s the beat instead of the actual melody.” King’s paragraphs are often a single beat building tension with a solitary word. “Its brevity and telegraphic style vary the pace and keep the writing fresh.” King’s changing sentence structure developed his story’s unique rhythm; one that keeps readers engaged from beginning to end.
In many Native American cultures, Storytellers are highly respected tribe members. Storytelling is considered a sacred and spiritual act. Through storytelling, tribe members are connected to their past, present and future. Storytellers unite the tribe and community providing a sense of shared identity.
Storytelling has been with us through the ages. It’s an innate characteristic of all humans to want to hear and share stories. In both mediums, oral traditions and written novels, rhythm is critical to creating a story that engages, captures the imagination and provides needed escape. Bestselling author, J. A. Jance said it best, “The ancient, sacred charge of the storyteller is to beguile the time.”
Today, it is a storyteller’s highest acievement to write a story that captures the reader’s imagination and mind, and offers a form of solace during critical times.
I’m fortunate to come from a family of storytellers, to have experienced our Kiowa oral traditions, to feel our stories and to be lost within their rhythm. As an avid reader, I’m delighted to read a book and feel its rhythm; to get lost in the story, letting worries and concerns disappear—for a while.
Storytellers through written or spoken words are still performing sacred and necessary work. They hear the drum beat.
