October 12, 2011
Poetic or Pedantic? Part Four: The Spirit of Your Writing
Musicians are taught to count each measure of music to help them play the rhythm right. Certainly there has to be a way to keep track of the beat and stay with it so listeners can recognize the piece you’re playing, and so you can play in sync with other musicians.
The beat is inherently hypnotic, and you want to use it to mesmerize the audience. Yet in music, as in writing, the literal counting of the beat, or the too-detailed planning-out of your project, isn’t necessarily the best way.
It’s better to feel the beat, or the spirit of your writing project, and to let these things hit you in the midst of pouring out the music or words. This is the energy behind your art, as you wait for those moments of wonder that push you beyond the particulars and into the magic.
Music of Writing 
elizakeller said,
October 12, 2011 at 9:01 am
Yes! Not everything has to be tortured and polished.
LikeLike
Rebecca Hein said,
October 19, 2011 at 1:58 pm
Yes, it’s wonderful how a lot of polishing emerges as the natural result of a poetic frame of mind. Thanks for commenting.
LikeLike
Scott Mitchell said,
October 12, 2011 at 9:11 am
Beautiful writing and shared insight. Thanks for posting this
LikeLike
Rebecca Hein said,
October 19, 2011 at 1:57 pm
Thanks for this great comment. Beautiful writing is much easier if I can just create flow and stay with it.
LikeLike
bruce Atchison - author said,
October 12, 2011 at 9:26 pm
I first write what’s right. Then I right what’s wrong. I’ve always found that getting it all out first is so much more productive than worrying about editing as I type.
LikeLike
Rebecca Hein said,
October 19, 2011 at 1:56 pm
Yes, and I’ve found that the need for editing decreases, the farther I get into that poetic zone.
LikeLike