You wouldn’t think a mountain festival would be a good place for writers but two of the best storytellers I’ve seen for a while were at this year’s Kendal Mountain Festival.They were Nick Bullock and Greg Boswell, whose talk, Bearly Alive, described about their experiences climbing in Canada and particularly one occasion when they were attached by a grizzly bear.
The theme was interesting enough (how could a bear attack not be exciting?) but their delivery was what made it work. They had slides and took turns to vary the perspective but also they were pacy, energetic and enthused. And also very, very funny. They swore and sometimes talked over each other but that didn’t matter.
I’ve been to a number of literary events over the years but this was one of the best examples of story telling I’ve seen anywhere. So writers take note – writing is about stories and stories need, plot pace and character, not just fancy words.