Becoming a better writer: the importance of silence

As a writer, you have voices in your head.

There’s your muse, inner critic, and story characters; your mentors, friends, and parents; other writers, agents, and literary pundits. It makes for a lot of noise in there. Add the barrage of external chatter and you have quite the cacophony. For most of us, it’s a ceaseless stream of incoming information, internal monologue, and the slippery and shadowy musings of the subconscious. It can easily become overwhelming, but we’ve adapted to the constant onslaught. We find a way to keep working.

But, to become a better a writer, you need to find a way to quiet all those voices.

There is a place inside you where stillness reigns. It’s not easy to get there, but there is creative magic in that haven of quiet and calm.

My friend Bernardo recently talked about this place, this “heart of the hurricane.” In this brief video, he talks about how we hold the whole and complete essence of our life’s experience at this core.

Episode-263 from Yourgreatlifetv.com on Vimeo.

I believe Bernardo is right. I believe we have the answers within us, if only we could get quiet enough to hear that small, still voice. In response to his post I wrote, “Finding the center and establishing a home there is so important to a life well lived. We each have to be able to hear the whisperings of our own heart if we are ever to know the secrets and dreams that are ours to hold and realize.”

As writers, we need that connection more than most.

We need it understand what drives us to create. We need it to unearth the stories that are ours to tell. We need it to become better at our craft.

A theme of silence has been twining through my days lately. Last week I was mostly absent from the web, abandoning Twitter, Facebook, and my beloved blogs for a week off with my beau. We spent a couple of afternoons at the beach – walking and talking, walking and not talking. I could almost feel the noise and rush of my hurricane edges settling and falling away – opening a wider and wider path to that quiet place in my heart. My head began to clear. Ideas emerged, shyly at first but then more boldly. Pieces of puzzles I’d been worrying at for months fell effortlessly into place.

As I came back to the Real World – the world of email and deadlines and the daily chaos and joy of my daughter – it’s wasn’t easy to hold onto the delicate thread that I was following through the forest of voices. As I sat to write, the voices began their usual clamoring. Having been neglected for a few days, each was eager to be heard – to imprint its opinions on my heart, direct my writing with critique, or divert me entirely from my task. But then I was reminded of the value of silence by a Twitter exchange with two friends – one old and one new – who were planning silent retreats. I’m not ready to go days without speaking, but the conversation reminded me that silence is, indeed, golden when it comes to connecting with my creative heart.

How often do you give yourself the gift of silence? What can you hear when you hush all the other voices in your head and listen to the one voice that really matters? How do those conversations affect your writing?
Jamie Lee Wallace is a writer who also happens to be a marketer. She helps her Suddenly Marketing clients discover their voice, connect with their audience, and find their marketing groove. She is also a mom, a prolific blogger, and a student of voice and trapeze (not at the same time). Introduce yourself on facebook or twitter. She doesn’t bite … usually.

Image Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

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A writer’s heart

Why do you write?

What small yet untamed beast lives inside you, driving you to put down the words?

I am a writer, but I am not the writer I want to be. Each time someone asks me what I do, my writer’s heart dies a little death when I answer that I am a writer, but then have to explain that I’m not that kind of writer. “No,” I say, “I don’t write books. I blog, publish the occasional print piece, and mostly make my living writing marketing copy.”

Of all the things you can do in this world, why write? Writing is not easy. It does not typically bring fame or fortune. People often look at you funny when you say you are a writer, and your brain is never truly at rest.

So, why write?

Simple.

Love.

Stop laughing and, please, no eye rolling.

Love is the only possible explanation. Not so much for commercial writing, but certainly for creative writing. Each word we write is an expression of our love for the world, life, nature, humanity. Whether we are writing an essay, a blog post, a poem, a story, or a novel – each piece we create is a proclamation, a confession of the heart.

And that’s why it’s so damn scary.

When you love something so much, there is a part of you that would rather see it dead, than subjected to cruelty, disappointment, or pain. There is a part of you that would prefer to keep your story pristinely unmade, rather than risk destroying its perfection by creating it.

I have been writing for my whole life. I began journaling when I was seven years old. Though my practice has fluctuated with the uneven rhythms of my life, I have never stopped putting words down. Three-and-a-half decades of words, but it is only in the past three years that I have shared any of them. Though I now earn my living as a professional writer, I am still only taking baby steps towards owning my work, my beast.

Because, you remember, I am not the writer I want to be. I hold her hostage, in a high tower of doubt and fear. And while the writer-I-would-be languishes in her protective prison, my feet-on-the-ground, commercial writer walks free. She crafts her product and collects her respectable paychecks. She is pragmatic and slightly smug. She is, after all, bringing home the bacon. She is pulling her weight. She is living in the real world.

And yet …

… and yet sometimes I feel an unbearable ache to tear all of this away, to stop inhabiting the skin of this almost-writer. I have an urge to recklessly lay it all on the line, gamble the whole thing. I want to stop contaminating the words of my heart with the words of commerce. I want to divert my life force back into the stories that sing through my mind, instead of siphoning that energy off to feed the machine of business.

But, I don’t.

It’s not just that I have a living to make and a daughter to provide for. It is my heart that stays my hand – my writer’s heart, full to overflowing with love for the world, the stories, and the craft. “What if you fail?” it asks. What if I fail? What if I cannot do justice to this love, but only mar it with imperfect words? Would the story be better off dead than maimed and mutilated in my inept hands?

No. Emphatically, no.

No one else can tell my story. No one else inhabits my world.  No one else can even dream of bringing this love into the light, except for me. If I stumble, I will find someone to help me back on my feet. If I lose my way, I will find someone to guide me back to the path. If I lose hope, I will find someone to believe in me more than I believe in myself.

That is what’s in the writer’s heart – a story all her own; the drive to bring it to life; and a sometimes fragile, sometimes ferocious hope that the journey will end with happily ever after.

Jamie Lee Wallace is a writer who, among other things, works as a marketing strategist and copywriter. She helps creative entrepreneurs (artists, writers, idea people, and creative consultants) discover their “natural” marketing groove so they can build their business with passion, story, and connection. She also blogs. A lot. She is a mom, a singer, and a dreamer who believes in small kindnesses, daily chocolate, and happy endings. Look her up on facebook or follow her on twitter. She doesn’t bite … usually.

Image Credit: Luke Hayfield

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15 Tips to Make Your Writing Sing – American Idol Style

There’s a part of you that wants to be a star. Go ahead. You can admit it. Though we writers often toil in near (or complete) obscurity, we still crave a little limelight. There’s nothing wrong with that. It doesn’t make you a lesser writer if you harbor a secret desire to see your work shining up there like a Hollywood star.

And it doesn’t make me a lesser writer that I’m a not-quite-closeted fan of American Idol. The show may fall squarely into the guilty pleasure category, but it also has merit as a resource for people hoping to make a living in the creative arts. Strip away the gaudy opening sequence, overly dramatic results lighting, and cheesy group numbers, and you’re left with a powerfully condensed series of lessons on how to become a marketable artist. Whether your craft is music or words, the same rules apply.

On Craft
Feel the words
Idol judges always ask competitors to “connect with the lyrics.” The same applies to your writing. If you’re not emotionally connected to the story, readers can tell. The execution may appear flawless, but your work will be missing that “spark” of a “certain something” that brings it to life. Let the story get inside you. Make sure it comes from your heart as much as your mind.

Avoid being pitchy
“Pitchy” is a word Idol competitors hate to hear. Pitchy writing is sloppy writing. Have heart, but make sure you hone your skills so that you can deliver the story flawlessly. Word choice, grammar, showing instead of telling, understanding story structure and character development – you must master each of these in order to create a pitch-perfect work.

Take criticism like a pro
But sometimes, even your best efforts will fall short. If you’re lucky, there will be someone standing by who can offer you some constructive criticism. Take it with a grateful heart. It may sting a little at first, but watch that playback and you’ll probably see that your critic has a point. Don’t dwell. Don’t beat yourself up. Arm yourself with your new knowledge and go back out there to kick some butt.

Study the masters and find mentors
No writer needs to travel her road alone. There are hundreds if not thousands of artists who have come this way before. Learn from them – from their work, their lives, their mistakes. Read the good stuff and let it seep into your writing DNA. If you can, find yourself a mentor. Sit at her side and pay attention. Be inspired. Be humble. Be observant.

Make it your own
In the end, the mark of a true artist is the ability to take something that’s been done a million times and make it fresh, new, exciting – to give it that certain something that is the artist’s mark. Idol competitors always win high judges marks when they put their own “flavor” on an old standard. Writers can do the same thing. Let your freak flag fly. There’s only one you, and readers want you. Don’t try to be someone else – study, but don’t mimic. Take what you learn and mix it up with your own style to create something wholly new and fabulous.

On Strategy
Play to your strengths, but …
“Song choice” can make or break an Idol performance. Under pressure on the big stage, many competitors fall into the trap of trying to deliver what they think the audience wants, instead of what they can knock out of the park. Know where your writing “home” is and make everything you do come from that place, that strong foundation that is what you know and love. Be true to your roots.

… Break out of your comfort zone
But, every once in a while try something new. No one likes a one-trick pony. It’s predictable and dull. Trying new things is the only way to grow. If you always write novels, try a short story.  If you’re a short story fiend, give poetry a whirl. Experiment with a different POV, genre, or audience. Play around with remixes – you may just find a new path to your own brilliance.

Befriend the competition
Your competition can be your best ally. Sure, you may be fighting for the attention of the same agent, publisher, or audience, but you’re also both warriors on the same side of the creative battle. Only a writer can truly “get” another writer. Your relationships with fellow writers can be invaluable. They provide emotional and creative support, lead to collaborations and referrals, and typically turn out to be the key to your success. Don’t  overlook them.

On Showmanship
Presentation Counts
I know, I know – you’re a writer, not a pop star. That’s all good, but in today’s market everyone’s an idol. People want more than just your words – they want you. And if you’re going to make the right impression (whatever “right” is for you), presentation counts: the clothes, the hair, your mannerisms, speaking voice – the “whole package,” as the Idol judges like to say. Whatever you’ve got, work it.

Connect with the Audience
Each Idol season, unbelievably talented singers fall by the wayside. The crowd gasps at the injustice of someone with so much skill being voted off, and then promptly forgets the competitor’s name. The artists who win Idol are the ones who connect with the audience – while performing and as a person. Your writing needs to reach deep inside the reader and touch the threads of humanity that run through each and every one of us. It needs to say things that are in the reader’s heart as well as in your own heart. You need to make that direct eye contact, write your words for an audience of one, find a way to say the words every reader wants to hear, “I understand.”

Believe
None of the advice here works unless you believe. You have to believe in yourself, in your talent, in your story. You have to believe in your characters and in the importance of their actions. You have to believe that someone out there is just waiting to read your work. You have to believe that you are worthy, that you deserve to be heard, that you can do this thing.

Leave it all on the stage
When you believe, you will be fearless. You will be able to take your ideas to new heights, say things you never thought you would, pull away the veil and show the world the truth of you. You will not be afraid to bare it all, to “stomp it out” as Jennifer Lopez likes to say. You will be able to let fly with all your emotions, get to the core of what you’re trying to say, and really have an impact on your readers.

Thank the fans
A writer is someone who writes. A marketable writer is someone who needs to thank her fans. Your fans are the lifeblood of your career. If there are people out there you like you and who want to read your work, you can pretty much write your own ticket. It’s these people – your readers – who give you the power of choice. That’s a big deal. Thank them once in a while – from the heart.

On Philosophy
Live Life
Writing is a solitary pursuit. Life should not be. Study and sharpen your craft, but don’t do so at the expense of living your life. A writer’s work is her life distilled. If she hasn’t lived, she cannot write anything worth reading. The Idol competitors are plunged into a life-changing experience that feeds their creativity and passion. You may not need such an extreme adventure, but give yourself the chance to have small adventures each day. Get out in the world. Drink it in. Talk to people. Look closely. Listen. Grab chunks of the world and put them away for a rainy day. Create a life that feeds your soul and your muse.

Know that your craft is a journey, not a destination
Each time an Idol competitor is voted out of the running, the judges say the same thing, “This isn’t the end, it’s just the beginning.” It’s never the end. An artist is an artist forever. There is no Holy Grail to be won. There is no end-all be-all goal that will mark your ultimate achievement and the end of your efforts. An artist is always learning, always growing, always creating. The road may change, but never stop enjoying the journey.

Those are my 15 tips to make your writing sing, American Idol style. I’d love to know your favorite tips for producing writing that goes straight to the audience’s heart and the top of the charts.

Jamie Lee Wallace is a writer who, among other things, works as a marketing strategist and copywriter. She helps creative entrepreneurs (artists, writers, idea people, and creative consultants) discover their “natural” marketing groove so they can build their business with passion, story, and connection. She also blogs. A lot. She is a mom, a singer, and a dreamer who believes in small kindnesses, daily chocolate, and happy endings. Look her up on facebook or follow her on twitter. She doesn’t bite … usually.

Image Credit: Brittney Bush Bollay

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