Learning To Write Hack #2
Today we continue on the theme of morphing Mark Lee's Songwriting Hack series into a Learning to Write Hack series.
Songwriting Hack #2: Dream big, but keep it to yourself is the next entry in his series. This entry discusses the reasons to keep a dream, like learning to write songs, private initially. He discusses words of wisdom from both Hugh Hewitt and Dorothea Brande. Hugh Hewitt says that though you should strive for the Super Bowl equivalent of whatever field you are in (or want to be in), you don't announce that to the world in the beginning. Dorothea Brande says that "the average person writes just too much and not quite enough to have any great opinion of an author's life". She is basically saying that most people don't understand the writing process enough to have an appreciation for it. So, if you advertise your dreams to people - tell your friends you want to be a writer - they will stomp on your dreams. Sometimes it will be intentional, because they are jealous, or have no ambition of their own. Sometimes it will be unintentional, because it is just something that is too unfamiliar to them. For example, a good friend of mine has a young daughter. One day we were discussing careers, the future, college, etc. and he made the comment that he would not let his daughter go to college to study music or art. He would make her focus on some area that would provide better for future employment, and that she could study art or music in her spare time. I argued against that, saying that should she have a creative spirit like that then it should not be stifled.
This particular songwriting hack describes the reasons why this blog is set up the way it is. It is completely anonymous. Nothing here has any of my "real" contact information on it, though I do check the email address tied to this blog. Nothing else shows here - not my location, any part of my name, any links to any of my friends websites, etc. I haven't told anyone I know about this blog. I hope it will be gradually discovered by a few faithful readers who can provide good constructive feedback.
At the end of the entry, Mark Lee mentions that at some point a trusted mentor is needed. Someone who can provide loving and honest feedback. I will need one at some point, and I have a couple in mind. But for now, this is a big secret.
Songwriting Hack #2: Dream big, but keep it to yourself is the next entry in his series. This entry discusses the reasons to keep a dream, like learning to write songs, private initially. He discusses words of wisdom from both Hugh Hewitt and Dorothea Brande. Hugh Hewitt says that though you should strive for the Super Bowl equivalent of whatever field you are in (or want to be in), you don't announce that to the world in the beginning. Dorothea Brande says that "the average person writes just too much and not quite enough to have any great opinion of an author's life". She is basically saying that most people don't understand the writing process enough to have an appreciation for it. So, if you advertise your dreams to people - tell your friends you want to be a writer - they will stomp on your dreams. Sometimes it will be intentional, because they are jealous, or have no ambition of their own. Sometimes it will be unintentional, because it is just something that is too unfamiliar to them. For example, a good friend of mine has a young daughter. One day we were discussing careers, the future, college, etc. and he made the comment that he would not let his daughter go to college to study music or art. He would make her focus on some area that would provide better for future employment, and that she could study art or music in her spare time. I argued against that, saying that should she have a creative spirit like that then it should not be stifled.
This particular songwriting hack describes the reasons why this blog is set up the way it is. It is completely anonymous. Nothing here has any of my "real" contact information on it, though I do check the email address tied to this blog. Nothing else shows here - not my location, any part of my name, any links to any of my friends websites, etc. I haven't told anyone I know about this blog. I hope it will be gradually discovered by a few faithful readers who can provide good constructive feedback.
At the end of the entry, Mark Lee mentions that at some point a trusted mentor is needed. Someone who can provide loving and honest feedback. I will need one at some point, and I have a couple in mind. But for now, this is a big secret.
posted by learningtowrite | 7:23 AM
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