Are you old enough to remember the song that began, "Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain . . . ?" It is one that the Cascades, The Everly Brothers, and Ricky Nelson recorded many years ago. While in essence it is a love song about the girl who got away, it reminds me today of the rhythm we, as writers, try to impart to our readers with our words.
Rhythm is usually defined as the regular pattern of notes found in a stanza of music or a poem. However, I prefer to think of it as John Hartford, American bluegrass composer, said so eloquently, "The whole universe is based on rhythms."
As a writer, I am well aware of the rhythm contained in each and every story I read. It doesn't matter what genre the book is--crime or historical, adventure or action, romantic or mystery. They are all written with a regular pattern of long and short sentences and words to set the mood, and to move the reader either quickly or slowly through the story.
Today, though, while I sit here at my computer, I am trying to decide how to switch my mind from one rhythm to another. The tween novel that I have been working on all day, is another action/adventure novel. It requires a fast paced rhythm. Set in the present in a small community wracked by a hailstorm of fire, the main character, 13 year old Colton, is forced to face his fear of fire in order to save both himself and his sister. Yet, he holds a secret that not even his sister remembers. Working on this new novel is like running a race, and if you know me at all, you know, I am not a runner. Nope! Not me. So, I left today's writing on an arc that will take me to the first crescendo, so to speak, because frankly, I was out of breath. But, I found I am not finished with writing--at least not for today. So, I began work on another novel, and there lies my problem--switching rhythms.
The other novel is a slower, more thoughtful story of a young pregnant teen who sinks into depression. It is not one that takes you to the front line of a firestorm, but one that makes you take a walk in Sara's shoes. Instead of sentences such as, "The monster raced behind us, snapping it's jaws, and gobbling up tree after tree," I find myself writing, "I am but a maple tree that has been milked of its life-sustaining sap--alone and empty."
Moving from one work to the other is the reason I find myself thinking about the lyric's of "Listen to the Falling Rain." I am trying to get in Sara's mindset. What is it like to be a teenager who discovers her pregnancy months after party she barely remembers? What is it like to hide that pregnant from her friends and from her parents?
Now I know of several authors who work on multiple books at one time. Today, I have discovered that I am not one of them. I am a writer who can only work on one rhythm at a time. So the rest of my day will be spent reading the rhythm other authors create. How about you? Can you switch rhythms when you write?
Rhythm is usually defined as the regular pattern of notes found in a stanza of music or a poem. However, I prefer to think of it as John Hartford, American bluegrass composer, said so eloquently, "The whole universe is based on rhythms."
As a writer, I am well aware of the rhythm contained in each and every story I read. It doesn't matter what genre the book is--crime or historical, adventure or action, romantic or mystery. They are all written with a regular pattern of long and short sentences and words to set the mood, and to move the reader either quickly or slowly through the story.
Today, though, while I sit here at my computer, I am trying to decide how to switch my mind from one rhythm to another. The tween novel that I have been working on all day, is another action/adventure novel. It requires a fast paced rhythm. Set in the present in a small community wracked by a hailstorm of fire, the main character, 13 year old Colton, is forced to face his fear of fire in order to save both himself and his sister. Yet, he holds a secret that not even his sister remembers. Working on this new novel is like running a race, and if you know me at all, you know, I am not a runner. Nope! Not me. So, I left today's writing on an arc that will take me to the first crescendo, so to speak, because frankly, I was out of breath. But, I found I am not finished with writing--at least not for today. So, I began work on another novel, and there lies my problem--switching rhythms.
The other novel is a slower, more thoughtful story of a young pregnant teen who sinks into depression. It is not one that takes you to the front line of a firestorm, but one that makes you take a walk in Sara's shoes. Instead of sentences such as, "The monster raced behind us, snapping it's jaws, and gobbling up tree after tree," I find myself writing, "I am but a maple tree that has been milked of its life-sustaining sap--alone and empty."
Moving from one work to the other is the reason I find myself thinking about the lyric's of "Listen to the Falling Rain." I am trying to get in Sara's mindset. What is it like to be a teenager who discovers her pregnancy months after party she barely remembers? What is it like to hide that pregnant from her friends and from her parents?
Now I know of several authors who work on multiple books at one time. Today, I have discovered that I am not one of them. I am a writer who can only work on one rhythm at a time. So the rest of my day will be spent reading the rhythm other authors create. How about you? Can you switch rhythms when you write?
RSS Feed
