I like to collect quotes from famous authors on the subject of writing. The quote in the title of this post is from Elmore Leonard.
So, what I thought I might do, since blogging is something the experts say should be something one is passionate about, is to take one quote from a famous person every so often and post it along with my thoughts on what it means – that is, what it means to me.
“If it sounds like writing, rewrite it.” Wait a minute. Doesn’t all writing sound like writing?
No, not really. Try this exercise. Get yourself a small recording device, like a smart phone or other voice recorder, or even use your PC or laptop, then record yourself reading a book – without practicing first. Read it cold, as if you were a normal John or Jane Q. Public picking up a book to check it out and consider for purchase or whatever.
When you listen back, you might be surprised to hear your own voice as it changes cadence and timing due to normal “thought processes” as your brain translates what your eyes see to what your mouth speaks. You see, your brain is applying huge amounts of stored memory as filters and comparisons to bring personal meaning to what you read. Plus, it is reacting with new thoughts and considering future actions based on this same reading.
So, sometimes your reading voice speeds up, and sometimes it slows down, and sometimes it stumbles noticeably when your brain encounters something it doesn’t perceive as normal, or, normal within your range of experiences.
Perhaps a word seems out of place, or a phrase doesn’t instantly make sense. Perhaps a clause in the middle of a sentence is recognized by your experience as it should be at the front of the sentence, or at the end, not the middle.
Perhaps the language being used is unusually flowery. Or, perhaps the author used metaphors or similes which initially did not make sense. Maybe the sentences are far too long, with numerous conjunctions making them hard to parse into normal sense.
Good writing should flow effortlessly from one sentence to the next like a brook or river. Each scene change should be like a little waterfall, ending one level and beginning a next level, but still within the same flowing river. Sure, waterfalls can be a little jarring, or even huge, but they should still flow along with the same river.
In other words, the reader should never consciously realize they are being take for a ride along the river. Instead, they should be so captivated by the traveling, and what they see and hear as they flow along that they just enjoy the journey.
The reader does not want to know they are inside the Matrix. They simply want to enjoy the experience.
Really good writers can craft sentences and paragraphs and scenes which just flow, so smoothly. Compare Dean Koontz and Stephen King, two authors who have completely different styles and voices, yet both are unarguably masters of their craft. Koontz uses unusual words and flowery sentences which swirl the imagination with color and sound and scent as he dissects human intentions and describes actions scenes. King uses normal words either as hammers to brutalize our senses or as a warm, gentle breeze to caress our skin and urge us to a direction. Yet, with either of these gentlemen’s works the reader rarely, if ever, realizes they are in the King or Koontz Matrix.
Sit down with your own writing creations and record yourself reading them. If you do it right, with the intent of learning new things and of discovery, you could be surprised.
And, if it sounds like writing, rewrite it.