The stage lights up. The audience holds its breath. A harmonious melody begins to emerge from the instrument. The virtuoso strikes the keys. The crowd is mesmerized. It seems so simple. And yet…
Behind this apparent ease lie decades of training.
Have you ever tried to learn an instrument?
I’ve tried several, and I had no idea it was so hard. It takes patience, willpower, memory, dexterity and above all: practice.
Long hours spent doing the same movement over and over again. Sometimes it takes weeks to master only part of a track. And if you stop practicing: you will forget entire parts of the track.
Learning an instrument requires brutal rigor and a lot of dedication.
On the surface, an instrument seems easy to pick up. It’s just a human hitting a few notes in a row. A bit like writing, it’s just a human lining up words one after the other.
Anyone can do it, right?
But one doesn’t become a virtuoso of an instrument or writing without fierce training. The writer, like the musician, must work if he is to master his art. It is through repetition that he will correct his mistakes. That he perfects the harmony of his melodies.
What appear to be notes one behind the other are techniques, muscle memories, the intensity with which the notes are struck… It’s the same with writing. There are so many areas to explore, train and master.
One musician was asked:
“What can I do to progress?
To which he replied:
“Practice. Practice and practice. If I’ve reached this level, it’s because I’ve dedicated part of my life to music. I practiced, every morning, over and over again.”
The apprentice writer can draw inspiration from this answer. Behind the ease and perfection that some artists manage to produce lie years of training during which they have never stopped polishing their talent.
We live in strange times when we wish we had everything now. We wish there was a magic recipe that would make us an expert in a snap of the fingers.
There is a recipe.
But it’s not magic, it’s practice.
It’s about continually working at your art, and enjoying doing it.
I'd like to ask you a quick question.
Would you be interested in creating a writer's community?
A group in which you could share your writing, your prompts, discuss writing, reading and meet other writers?
See you in a week for the results.
If you want to read my novel in progress.
The second chapter is out.
Yes, I like the analogy of writing to an instrument. I am mesmerised by people who play an instrument with such an ease, like it has become so natural to them. Writing must feel the same.
Oh, and a writing community would be nice! I've been thinking that writing doesn't have to be a 100% solitary path. After all we share the journey of letting our thoughts out, and that can be scary for many of us. So support and motivation are great factors to implement!