An Easy Tool to Improve Your Writing
Searching for understanding of rhythm and flow in good writing
When we discover writing we admire, whether in poetry, fiction or even nonfiction, we first hear it in our minds as we read along, as if the author is speaking directly in our heads.
If it is good writing, it pulls us deeper, the imagery revealed letting us feel what the author creates, themes explored we connect to and can learn from, and we can lose time by becoming captured by the writing, smiling an hour later and nodding, wow, that was so powerful.
Learning to write, especially at a level where we get read and others become enthralled by our work, requires a multi-faceted approach, beyond hearing the work, and that includes learning to feel the writing you cherish as if you wrote it yourself.
A simple tip, one seldom discovered on your own in your early writing days, is to hand write passages you that speak to you so your mind can capture the flow and rhythm of the writer’s work.
A few weeks ago, during one of those periods where nothing I wrote will ever see light of day, I gathered ten poems from the poets I always return to for inspiration, then hand wrote each one straight through several times. My goal is to capture the unique feel of each work, but also this process…
