Grasping for the Wind

The Writing Skill

Elaine Cunningham has written many books for the Forgotten Realms shared world. I was reading her blog today and came across this thought from a post she wrote as an open letter to someone with an idea but no finished product.

"I used to teach music before I began writing, and I firmly believe that music provides a good example for how to approach writing. Very few people expect to learn a Rachmaninoff concerto in their first week of piano study, nor do students believe that the first piece they learn will be something they’d want to perform on the concert stages of Prague and Vienna. Similarly, writers must also learn the art and craft of their trade. Start with the basics of language: grammar, syntax, vocabulary. A pianist will not be able to play a Mozart sonata unless he has mastered the ability to play scales. It is the same with writing. Learning to write is not a short or an easy process, but if it is something you truly want to do, it is worth the time and effort it will take to master."

Mastery. Mastering a subject, a skill, takes time and effort. Many of us are not willing to take the time and effort. I know I don't. I'm haphazard, lazy. When I begin writing I often get maybe ten pages into a story and then give it up. I stop writing. I blame it on writer's block but am more often just bored with the story. I don't stick to it, I know its not a great work, and so I lose interest. Cunningham reminded me that any skill I truly love I will take the time to master.

I was once fortunate enough to have the author visit my own blog. I wrote a review of City of Splendors, and she came by and posted. Take a look here.

Posted by John on January 19, 2007 02:08 PM | Posted to Literature and Language
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