Creative Laryngitis
Ever lose your voice? It stinks. You know what you want to say but you can’t quite get it out. It’s there… frozen on the tip of your tongue… you can visualize it but when it comes out it doesn’t sound anything like you. In fact it sounds like a pale imitation of you.
What’s the problem?
It’s creative laryngitis. No. This isn’t the same thing as writer’s block. You can communicate. You can say what your mind sees. The problem is that the words that pour forth onto the page aren’t quite in your voice. So who are you channeling? Is it Stephen King? Nick Hornby? Does the paragraph you just spit out sound uncannily like a verbose ventriloquist’s imitation of Anne Rice?
Don’t worry… there is a cure. Put down your copy of A Long Way Down and step away the book. Sure - Nick is an incredibly entertaining and engaging writer but he’s not you, nor are you him. This might seem obvious but you may be unknowingly allowing yourself to interpret another’s literary persona in a way that doesn’t quite work. A lot of young writers fall prey to this. Imitation can be the sincerest form of flattery in some cases but the most powerful writing is when it comes from within and not without.
So the cure I spoke of? It comes in two easy to swallow forms.
- Read
- Write
Read as much as you can. Soak it all up. Allow the words of others to settle within.
Write in your own voice. Use what you’ve learned and speak from your own heart and in your own words. This takes practice and eventually you will shed the comfortable cocoon of another and spread your own wings.
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Comments
You’re very welcome, Laurie. I have a whole list of books I want to read and story ideas I’d like to write but there never seems to be enough time in the day does there?
No there doesn’t. It’s a little frustrating to want to spend time reading and writing and not getting to do it. Then when I do, like yesterday I took the time to write a poem, I didn’t get other things done I needed to do like the laundry! I guess it’s all a trade off. Do you write poetry?
Actually I have written some poetry in the past. Some of it is floating around on the web in various places. An online University press called The Writ published some a while back. It’s been awhile for me though. My poetic voice is very hoarse these days…
I saw on Zen Habits where you play keyboard. Do you write songs? I’ve written a few (lyrics only) but I don’t know anything about music. How long have you been tickling the ivories? My hubby and one of my two sons plays piano. They are both very good. We have a white Yamaha 6 ft grand in my living room. I married a piano and a man came with it! He he.
:O)
PS.
If you gargle with salt water it will take care of that hoarse throat and you’ll get your poetic voice back! If you think in rhyme while you gargle it works faster!
I don’t recall mentioning keyboard on zenhabits, but I do play guitar, drums and bass. My keyboard playing leaves a lot to be desired(as does my singing voice!).
Maybe I should gargle with water. It may have the unexpected effect of providing me with an outstanding set of pipes along with enhanced poetic abilities.
“Rick - Tripping the Muse Says:
April 15th, 2008, 9:12 am
Words to live by as I sip my freshly brewed morning coffee and tap away at my keyboard. Half awake I might add…
My addition:
Relaxing in my hammock in the shade with a book…”
Getting too old to remember? Welcome to the crowd!
Aha! I must be getting old for I meant “keypad” as in the keypad of my laptop. I guess I hadn’t had enough coffee yet!
That happens to me. I have this picture of what I want to say, the image I want, the feelings I want it to stir, but it comes out flat. I haven’t read as much lately, I’ll have to do that! (I also haven’t written as much lately either!) Thanks for the encouragement Rick.