What makes a good story, anyway? Canadian storytellers convene in Sudbury to tell you

Some of Canada's best storytellers are spinning a good yarn in Sudbury this week.

The members of Storytellers of Canada- Conteurs du Canada - are hosting their 30th annual conference in the Nickel City. They've even adopted the city's moniker as part of their theme: "A penny for your thoughts, a nickel for your story."

The group's mission is to maintain and help raise awareness of oral traditions in Canada. To that end, they invite storytellers of all kinds for the annual get-together, which this year is in northern Ontario, a first for the group. 

Patrick Breton is part of the event's organising committee.

He says it's not just about telling stories at the conference – although with that many professionals in the room, tales are bound to be told – the group offers workshops, concerts, masterclasses, and the opportunity to network with other storytellers.

So, what makes for a good story?

"Any story can be interesting," Breton told CBC's Morning North. "The main thing will be if you connect with the public."

"Like if you do a [stage] play, you're reciting your verse, which is basically telling what you're supposed to do," Breton said. "And there's an invisible wall with the public. That doesn't exist with storytelling."

Once a connection has been made with the room, Breton said, a good tale can be told by just about anyone, and about any topic. It's all about feeding off the audience.

"You're talking to them and reacting to the way they react," he said. "For example if I tell a joke and you start laughing, I'm going to try to add some more jokes."

"But if it's really serious and I see that, oh, this is the kind of thing the audience wants, then I'm going to go with the more serious."

And during the concerts, people will be able to hear several different types of stories – funny anecdotes, longer tales, even stories of war and drama.

It takes a lot of different types of tales to keep a community connected, Breton said. And the reasons we're drawn to storytellers go far beyond entertainment.

"A lot of times I hear people say at the end of the story, 'OK, the moral of the story is this.'"