Orality vs. Literacy
Writing is the process of transforming verbal words into visual symbols that represent said word and can be discerned by others. At its basic level, literacy is a form of transferring information. Only when writing goes beyond merely being understandable and starts to fulfill needs for creativity and aesthetics, does it become more of an art than simply a way to move information. In contrast, storytelling can be done through multiple mediums such as writing to opera and ballet. Though these forms of storytelling work in order to communicate a tale from one person to another, it is my belief that and oral performance is the purist way to communicate a story.
It is quite rare that great writers are also great storytellers. By this I mean that often these are not equivalent skills for a person to have. Not only does writing require a sense for words, but also structure, pacing, plot, style, and more. Even though storytelling is a primarily done verbally, the visual aspects of the written form should not be forgotten. There are some things that have no effect on oral narratives that need to be taken into account when it comes to written text. Littararry elements like words that look similar or excessive alliterations or even the layout of the text will have an effect on the way its read. Furthermore, writing is more of a deliberate craft than an oral narration. Typically writers construct their stories very intentionally. It is rare that an author’s writing can’t keep up with the flow of his or her ideas. Even for someone who simply wants to write with the fluidity of his or her thought process will still have to do quite a bit of editing and refining in order to avoid basic typos and grammatical errors. Good writing often requires premeditation which allows the writer to plan out where the course of the story is going in order to weave in details of aspects like foreshadowing. For the most part, this means that constructing a written story...