Becoming A Bridge Builder

I was thinking today about my aspirations to be a writer, and just contemplating the meaning of that term, and the nuance that that term lacks. Well, it may have nuance, but just not as applies to what I actually want to be. I read some criticisms of J. K. Rowling, about how she is a storyteller and not a writer. I decided then that what was important to me was not be a writer, but a storyteller. However, that word to me has specific meaning of performing in front of people, as opposed to the written word. So I was thinking of how to describe myself.

The image that came to mind was of a story being on one side of a river, and my readers being on the other. My goal is simply to build a bridge between them. It is reaching the story that matters most, not the bridge. And while the bridge may be interesting and may be something to admire of its own merit, it would be of little importance if it did not connect the two. What is most important is making that connection possible.

I'll probably still use the term writer, because that is a common enough term that people understand, but when I think to myself of what I want to be - bridge builder just seems a much more appropriate term.