A Power to Writing?

Dissecting your writing?

Are you the kind of writer who dissects every word? Do you find yourself not enjoying writing because of the nit-picking that you’re doing?

I’ve seen people take a sentence and rip it apart until it is perfect to their eyes. There is a course called Masterful Sentences and I just can’t find myself taking that class. I mean is there really a MASTERFUL sentence? Do you think all of the Master writer’s before us took this course, you know to make sure their work was perfect?

I don’t think so. I think one can put too much time into mastering the perfect sentence all the way down to the point of not finding a natural rhythm and flow to their writing. Something is lost along the way when your eye keeps picking out the wrong adjective or adverb or lazy modifier.

As writer’s we are in a state of wanting to get the story out and on paper. Type, type, type,click click goes the keyboard sounding like rain on a tin roof. We get the story out in a storm of words then it’s time for revisions. Now is the time to dissect your words. BUT and this is a major but, do you want to pick the story apart, sentence for sentence word for word and make it as perfect as you can? Sure you do.

Are you going to dissect it at a workshop and have everyone point out your weak modifiers? Poor use of adverbs? Sloppy use of an adjective? Did you write your story with the reader in mind or the grammar queen in mind who is going to read and dissect instead of enjoying the story?

I write a story so everyone can enjoy the flow of the words that feel right to them. Sure grammar usage is important but I really don’t want to lose the flow or the natural rhythm that I have going. I love writing! I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t write. But to think of dissecting my writing making it so illegible that not even I can recognize it as my own makes me cringe at writing. It literally causes me NOT to write which kind of scares me because it is something I love doing.

I write a lot of poetry. Now hand it to the pro’s in a workshop they can find words that are too redundant, they can find words that sound too forced, or they can pick a pair of alliterative words and say they don’t work. Change any one of those words and the poem loses its rhythm. It loses the heart and soul which once again, scares me. I won’t write a poem to be dissected. If it doesn’t have the iambic meter that your looking for then don’t read my poetry.

Now if you’re going to read my words because they touch you or make you feel something deep inside, then my writing is for you. Continue reading my friend.