Normally, I write in longhand. I always have over the past years. But recently, I wrote on the keyboard. I thought I could never write on a computer though I know many writers regularly do use that method. In fact, several great authors typed out their thoughts before the advent of the computer. In some journalism schools, I believe that creating on the keyboard is an expectation.
A former student once told me that she wrote to music. I was amused and I never forgot it. Case and point? Recently, I wrote to music. I put on some piano music with a variety of classical musicians such as Bach and Beethoven. There were no lyrics to interrupt my train of thought, so my fingers flew across the keyboard as if I too was playing the piano.
For other scenes, I put on artists such as Aretha Franklin, Frankie Beverly and Maze, Issac Hayes, Tina Turner, Luther Vandross, Whitney Houston or whichever artist I needed to help me create a particular scene. Once I was in the musical zone, I could gain traction and finish my ideas much quicker.
When I write, I place myself in the room with my characters and pretend to be a fly on the wall. I quietly observe and watch the action and drama play out. I ask myself, what would he or she say at that point? My task is to try to record what I saw, heard, or felt at that time. I listen to the musical artists that can assist me in painting the right mood through words.
The other day I saw Lenny Kravitz interviewed by Toure’ on the Masters of the Game. Lenny said that his job as an artist is to catch the messages from the sky and put them down on paper. Those are powerful words, yet a difficult task.
Few people realize that lyrics, poems, songs, and book ideas flash like blinking lights. The ideas come in a flash, and they can leave just as rapidly. If they are not immediately captured, they will vanish forever.
They are like dreams that seem so real, but the moment we open our eyes and return to our daily world, we cannot remember what happened. Everything that appeared to be crystal clear while in our dream state is suddenly gone. Poof!
When writing, if music helps set the tone, then great. If writing on the keyboard gives that extra flow, then that method of creating should be used as well. Whatever helps artists get those thoughts out of the air and onto the page, then so be it. My new experience of writing by using the keyboard allowed me to gain speed and it added to the magic as my fingers glided across the page.
Lynn M.
June 22, 2024
Lynn's Thoughts 