Historical Fiction . Irish History . Sparks in Time . Writing

Sparks in Time Episode 5: Storytellers

On June 8, 2020 by admin

Storytellers

For anyone who has studied the long and rich history of Ireland and Scotland, you probably already know that storytelling is a cornerstone of Gaelic culture. Seanchai (pronounced shan-a-key) are the traditional Irish storytellers. These traveling artists have been the keepers and protectors of Celtic history for millennia. The art of storytelling includes not just the story itself, but the artistic way in which is it conveyed.

Bards—the profession that grew into seanchai— traditionally held a very esteemed position in Celtic society. These artists memorized incredible amounts of poetry for performance. As the trade grew, the seanchai took to the roads and traveled from village to village sharing this oral tradition across Ireland. These wanderers carried the history and cultural traditions of Ireland to every part of the Ireland, and still to this day continue to pass along these stories to future generations.

Because storytellers and oral tradition plays such an important role in Gaelic history, this genre is wide open for using storytelling in creative ways to transport readers and evoke historical time periods.

Storytellers as a Tool for Historical Fiction Authors

Many works of historical fiction incorporate the idea of storytellers. Not only are storytellers a captivating part of Gaelic tradition, but they can be used to create vivid scenes, convey history in a creative way, and help to create intrigue in fictional works. Some authors develop story arcs around the role of storytellers, while other authors use storytelling as a way to weave small plot lines together or create creative foreshadowing.

The Role of Voice

Storytellers can be a powerful tool in this genre because they provide an opportunity to draw out time and place through voice. Because storytelling is an art, the theatrics and the way the language is conveyed—poetry, accent, cadence, rhythm, syntax—is oftentimes as important as the contents of the story itself. After all, this is what makes the seanchai such a memorable part of Irish tradition.

While storytelling is by definition an oral tradition, there are many written accounts of the seanchai and the tales themselves, which can be very helpful as you research the tradition for incorporation into your own works in progress. Some of the things to consider are the specific time period, the use of language, the purpose of the story, and what aspects of specific stories were actual historical events and what parts were used by storytellers to create an experience for their own audiences.

Authors will consider how to incorporate historical voice, and whether or not to take a narrative approach or a dialogue approach. This of course will depend on your own writing style, but each option will give you new ways to help transport your reader to a different time.

Giving a Voice to…Voice

As an auditory learner, I find it very helpful when creating scenes to listen—actually hear the words and sounds that I am trying to recreate—when drafting these types of scenes. This might mean I listen to an audiobook that uses a similar type of prose with similar characters, or that I actually read my own words out loud to make sure that I am creating the experience I intended to create. (This takes on a whole new importance if you plan to publish your work as an audiobook…the audio experience is often quite different from a reading experience and it is important to understand how you might connect with the different audiences.)

Works in Progress

In my current series, Shadows in Drab and Green , I use the storyteller as a character, and the stories themselves as a plot element and for the purpose of foreshadowing. Storytelling in general fits well into the story arc as a way to represent generations of Irish history and to connect the past, present and future.

Combining the use of an actual storytelling character gives me some leverage to give both the function of the storyteller within society and the stories themself a voice. Further, because the stories themselves play a role in the plot, it gives another option to develop the story arc.

Recommended Reading

Ireland, by Frank Delaney. This historical fiction is an example of an author who created an entire plot around the Irish storytelling tradition. The storyteller character not only plays a prominent role in the actual story arc, but the novel itself incorporates the retelling of many oral traditions. This creative use of the storyteller as a major character allows the author to bring the reader back in time while allowing them to experience the stories of Ireland through the pages of the book. As both a reader and a writer, I thoroughly enjoyed this unique approach to incorporating Irish storytelling into a work of historical fiction.

Landmarks of Interest

As you might expect in a country with such a rich storytelling tradition, Ireland is chock full of historical sites that are connected to its oral tradition. Here are just a few sites of interest if you are planning a tour of Ireland.

Glenbeigh, in County Kerry, is the site of one of Ireland’s most famous stories: Tir na Nog, or “land of youth”. In this story of love and youth, Niamh, from Tir na Nog, comes to earth and falls in love with Oisin, and brings him back to the land of eternal youth. Years later, when a homesick Oisin returns, he arrives back in Glenbeigh, and instantly dies. Today, Glenbeigh is known for its beautiful beaches and views of the Atlantic.

Beara Peninsula, in County Cork, is the setting for another famous Irish story known as the Children of Lir. In this traditional story, four children are turned into swans by their stepmother and live as swans for centuries. The peninsula provides a breathtaking landscape, popular for fishing and known for fantastic seafood, and would be a beautiful stop on any tour of Ireland.

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