In a post on Writer Unboxed, Kathryn Craft shares writing lessons from celebrated singer-songwriter Dar Williams. “Because songwriting is a shorter form, we wordy novelists can learn a thing or two from the way Dar focuses her message,” Craft says.
Those lessons include:
- Zero in on your audience. Williams pays attention to her intimate audiences and uses her conversations to inspire new songs, and Craft says writers can do the same. “Whether at a conference, a book signing, or speaking in a lecture hall, learn something about the town,” she says. “Interact with bookstore personnel, organizers, and other authors as well as readers. Use names whenever you can. An interaction that feels personal will make an impression that sticks.”
- Think poetically. When Williams has an idea for a new song, she spends time thinking about the imagery and what it might mean on a deeper level. She asks the following kinds of questions: Where did I go? Where did I really go? What happened? What really happened? How did it feel? How did it really feel? “This depth of focus might not be needed on every page of your novel, but it could certainly unearth extra meaning for key scenes,” Craft writes.
- Sharpen your revision game. Williams encourages writers to question their choices on the page until we get to the core of what we want to say. Instead of sticking with what sounded good in the moment, she urges writers to persevere until every word of what they wrote feels specific and true, Craft says.
- Ensure the story makes sense to you. Your story has to make sense to you before it can make sense to anyone. Otherwise, you’re leading your audience into the woods with nowhere to go. “The good kind of woods invites the reader to explore and make connections,” Craft explains. “The bad kind of woods just leaves the reader feeling lost.” While some ambiguity is ok, you should still leave enough of yourself on the page that the story was worth your while to write.
- Make emotional room for your reader. When she writes, Williams aims for a balance between collective experience and emotional honesty, and then cleans up the mushy parts. “A certain amount of dryness allows the listener to feel their own feelings as opposed to being told what they are supposed to feel,” Craft says. She suggests pulling back during highly emotional scenes, and trading out sentimental words for something concrete, which can allow your reader to make their own connections.
