Which is the better vantage point for the writer: being an outsider or insider? Do the prophets in the wilderness or the embedded reporters make better writers?
This is an important question for us writers because it’s pertains not only to how you write but to how you should live. Should you seek happiness, the society of others, and success? Or should you seek isolation and individual expression?
We all can recall a favorite book we had as kids or one our own kids want to hear over and over. And over. Thousands of children’s books are published each year. These stories, which set the stage for a lifetime of reading, are often very simple. But publishers say that doesn’t mean they’re easy to write.
With 2014 on the other side of the sunset, I wanted to write something relevant to the changing of time, the promise of a new year, the symbolism of a new year meaning a new start.
And then I saw that there exists something called a “spoonerism” in writing, and all my previous ideas immediately went out my ear.
I am addicted to the song “Counting Stars” by OneRepublic. It’s the first thing I listen to in the morning. It all started when the lead singer of OneRepublic, Ryan Tedder, was a guest mentor on The Voice. Now, I know you’re gonna cringe, but I’ll say it anyway. I love music, and yet, even as a writer, I never digest the lyrics. Weird I know.
In this case something Tedder said struck a chord. He described the meaning behind the song (being broke, worrying about money, wishing not to worry…) and all of a sudden I wanted to listen to the song and absorb the lyrics. In doing so, I found a stockpile of similarities between the words in the song and my life as a writer. Let’s take a look at the lyrics and see if they hit you too.
As a writer, you are bound to be a language lover and enjoy the infinite combinations that produce a unique effect, striving for the occasional strike of reaching the near-magical. You continuously learn words, perhaps obsessively dive into etymologies, underline admired phrases by other authors, and practice weaving words in the quest of developing your own style.
It’s not unlikely that you also write down sentences and paragraphs by others and read them aloud, enjoying their delicious taste which sometimes feels as if they’ve come from another, unknown and better universe.
I don’t write thrillers. But after The Write Practice team and I talked with Joanna Penn, author and popular blogger of The Creative Penn, I kind of wanted to.
When Joanna agreed to chat with the team and I, she didn’t know we were going to post this here, but the conversation was so fascinating that I wanted you to see it. Fortunately, Joanna was generous enough to let me share it with you.
