See Sharon’s bio, photo, and Part 1 of this Q&A, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.
Q&A with Sharon Lippincott (Question 5):
Q: Among storytellers I’m doing Q&As with, you place a much higher importance on writing than most. What aspects of the writing process for telling your life story are most significant and satisfying for you?
A: I love reading eloquent narrative. Occasionally I find a phrase so stunningly vivid that I have to stop and linger over it, feeling the words run through my mind with the fluid grace of warm summer rivulets. I can’t do that when I’m listening to an oral narrative. I’m drawn to the printed page, and though I know eBooks will play an increasingly large role in the future, they will never replace the sensuous feel of paper between my fingers.
But it’s more than that. Writing endures and remains stable. Oral stories are soon forgotten, and even the fragments that persist are morphed over time and countless tellings. I find it richly satisfying to know that I’ve told my story, my way, and nobody can mess with it. In that same vein, I can write a whole story without interruption. When I tell a story, I may be interrupted and sidetracked with questions or comments. Then others are sure to tell one after mine, overwriting listeners’ memory space with new material. Story telling often evolves into a game of one-upsmanship. This is less likely to happen with written stories.
In the final analysis, people must follow their own gifts and inclinations. My father is a master story-teller, and nobody tries to follow his stories. I do better in writing. That’s what I’m called to do, and where my passion lies.