Candles lit, Hildegard Bingen is moving through the room and i just got back from the
snowy markets of Berlin and bought an armful of fresh pine branches wrapped in
yesterday's paper.
Whatshould we do when our writing seems as stale as the old baguette in the bread
box?
Try aswe may to add a few adjectives and adverbs, we feel stuck.
One ofthe most important things to remember while writing is the beginners mind.
Thebeginners mind knows no about.
I amwriting a story about a dog. I am writing a song about my first love.
Thebeginners mind is not about describing what love is. The beginners mind is
fresh in experience.
Allsenses are perked.
Writersare able to move with grace between many worlds. They capture rhythms and tones
and slip into the warm tea before it slides down their throat to warm their
hearts. They start, where everything starts. With the breath. And then they
begin to breathe life into space.
It isactually a crazy job to have. Take breath and make it sound, take breath and
form sound to words. Take breath and consciously touch people, move people through those words.
Soagain.. show, don't tell.
Don'ttell us about any of the big words, love, truth, anger, sorrow, hate, justice.
Sharewith us the inside of a story and we will come to the same conclusion as you.
Forexample when you experience falling in love, you may have moments of laughter
and joy and doubt and fear all at the same time. It is all there. Many songs
only talk about the ecstasy, few are honest enough to share with us the bitter
sweet.
Thenervousness. The doubts that creep in.
Don'texplain it. Show it.
Whereare you? Is it winter or summer? How is the sky? What do you see? Are you
walking towards him or are you walking side by side? Is there traffic passing
or are you standing underneath an old bridge?
Are you struggling to find words? Do you stutter? How does he smell? Calvin Klein?
Eau de Cologne?
Mothballs? He reaches out, is his touch firm? Soft? Does he grab you? Or, does he
talk and talk and talk and you wait for the moment of knowingness. In which
direction is this thing going?
Whatare you listening to? Wind? Noises in a restaurant? Are you in a bus? A
rehearsal room? Are bombs falling?
Whenyou write stories and songs, stay in direct connection with the senses and what
you are writing about.
Capturehow your mind flashes the first time before the comments and critics walk into
the room.
Thefirst flashes and words are usually the ones that reflect like a mirror,
neutrally.
The emotions areformed by our identification to them. By our belief systems.
If youwrite from this space, your audience can identify from their own experience and
not borrow yours. Who wants a borrowed love affair, a borrowed moment.