March 29, 2023
Jumps in ability: Part Two
Better days are coming in your writing life, provided that you keep writing. This isn’t unfounded optimism, but fact. And this process can include fun, easy writing.
As with the years I spent playing open strings on the cello, you’ll likely feel like you’re walking a treadmill. But it’s pleasant because the work is easy.
Choose any type of writing that relaxes you: journal-writing, writing for fun, writing to please yourself, writing about a subject you love. The one rule is: Don’t try to compose something others will read. Just write daily or as often as possible, continuing until you discover that your writing is not only better, but easier.
All along, your ability will continue to accumulate. Although you may not notice any sudden improvements, the invisible (for a while) effects are building like a pile of snow on a precipice. Eventually, it will release itself in an avalanche, and you’ll see where all that effort was taking you.
October 25, 2018
Privacy: the best reason for undirected writing
Privacy is one of the most valuable benefits of all types of undirected writing. Too often, when we’re trying to write something we hope or know someone else will read, inhibitions attack.
Whenever we do freewriting, wander-writing, and journal-writing, we bypass this problem, thus liberating ourselves. To get to the core of our most important ideas, there’s probably no better way.
June 25, 2013
Why Practice? Part Three
Ease of execution; smooth flow; producing a great first draft—these skills are possible with practice. Not the “practice” of polishing a piece for publication or of working through a series of early drafts, but practice writing.
Put words on paper, or type them. The content is irrelevant because your state of mind is the key. You have to know the intrinsic value of basic writing, without regard to quality, form, or content.
No musician would ever deny the need for practice, and writers shouldn’t either. What seems to be throwaway time—so tempting to skip so we can get on to our real work—is the foundation of our craft.
June 14, 2013
Why Practice? Part Two
In all my years of playing concerts, recitals, and even wedding receptions, my most memorable encounters with the audience have occurred after the performance.
“I wish I had your talent,” someone always sighs while shaking my hand. “I don’t know how you make it look so easy.”
I do. Years and years of persistent work. Yet in the minds of these wistful people, there was no mechanism. There was no daily battle to play better in tune, to feel the sway of the beat, or to achieve beautiful tone. Instead, there was a vague idea: “talent.”
The mechanics of practice are the most important component of your writing. That means daily writing, for practice only. Not for brilliance, not to polish a draft, just to put words on paper.
You want to dazzle readers, and especially editors and agents, with the mastery of your craft. So don’t handicap yourself by neglecting practice. If you do, it’ll take you just that much longer to reach your goals.
May 18, 2013
Why Practice? Part One
Is there a difference between freewriting and writing purely for practice? The former is something writers are exhorted to do, and the latter less frequently mentioned.
In freewriting you’re supposed to write whatever enters your head without editing or criticizing. Usually it’s for a set time. But why do it?
This question takes on meaning when we transfer the spirit of freewriting into the realm of practice writing. Why practice?
A simple question, with what should be an obvious answer, yet in several decades of cello playing, I’ve discovered that practicing is a vague concept in the minds of many people; without significance or value. If you’re a writer, and have this concept, it can be detrimental to your work.
Music of Writing 