Writing Forum

"You can learn a skill all by yourself right from the beginning, and one the things that I like about writing compared to playing music for example is that you can do most of the work on your own. Though, that doesn't mean it's the best way of learning the craft especially not in the beginning." --Tobber

Well...

As some of you may or may not know, I am something of a music nerd as well. Just a few days ago, a thing occurred to me. As a youngster, I was professionally trained in the classical way, and now I use many of those same techniques to teach students of my own. I recently took on a new student---an adult who can play the guitar like you wouldn't believe, but who can't read a note of music. This got me to thinking...

It's all well and good to learn the way I did, and many other people learn that way and get quite good. We can play Bach and Beethoven, Mozart and Brahms after a little practice and a mind to technique. And that's great, but what about the teenage boy that taught himself to play Nirvana covers in his bedroom? That kid can hear a song and know how to play it by ear. Sure, his classical technique may be a bit questionable, but is he any worse off than the student of mine (or me myself) that can play the Prelude to Bach's First Suite for Unaccompanied Cello by reading the music, but then when we hear a tune on the radio (a relatively simple one, even) we can't play it? This doesn't even touch on the "art" part of making music. The part that comes from within and cannot be learned through technique and theory. The "fake it 'til you make it" technique. This same thing applies to writing.

What I was trying to say in my post above (obviously poorly) is that you are going to suck at first. Expect it. But know that if you suck, that means it's working. No one starts a new thing instantly being a master of it. Sucking is part of the process and means you are on the right track. You will learn everything you need to know on your own about creative writing through practice and reading. All you have to do is try and have realistic expectations. It will take some time.

Also, there are some things you CANNOT learn from a book. For example, you simply must learn "voice" by trial and error. Pacing is another thing that is difficult to learn from a guide book, though it can be learned through reading. If during a session of dissecting while he's reading, Eliot notices that when the character is stressed the author's sentences become shorter and details are overlooked, and the opposite is true when things are relaxed, well, he has just taught himself something about pacing. Eliot is the equivalent to the kid in his room expertly plucking out guitar chords that he doesn't know the names of.

And what say you about conflicting advice, like the belief that it is never okay to "tell" rather than show, and that passive voice is bad? These things simply are not true in every circumstance. One must hear all the "rules" with a really large grain of salt just as a musician must learn Bach with an ear to the Beatles.

Point is, get on with sucking. You have to suck before you get better. That's just the way things work when you're trying something new. Listen to your readers. They are the only ones who matter. Listen to the lectures if you wish but know that what they are telling you is not the whole truth, plus it is only half of the equation.

Dang it, there's a really great quote from David Grohl about sucking when starting something new and how important it is that you do, but he has so many quotes, I can't find the one I'm looking for. Gah! I hate when that happens.




Come check out my writing website here: http://katmhawthorne.com, or my editing website here: http://www.movetothewrite.com