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Taking the Time to Improve Your Writing With a Musical Example

August 11, 2014

Writers need editors, and editors need to improve the writer’s work so people will love their writing.  

The same holds trues with any art form, and Sister Act has one of the best examples I can think of.

I’m sure we’ve at least heard of this movie starring Whoopi Goldberg and Maggie Smith (of Harry Potter and Downton Abbey fame) who need help with the ‘choir’ at a church.

These ladies can’t sing, they don’t (it turns out) have the practice they need to sing this song with some sort of professionalism- you can see it in the eyes of their listeners.  In this musical example, they don’t have the editor willing to tell them what need to be fixed, until one Sister Mary Clarence appears.

The singers have the potential, but are not given the time needed to improve.  This hurts to listen to, and if your writing is like this, it most likely hurts your readers to read it. Polishing your work a few times is important.

Then there is the problem with the ease of self-publishing, without polish, your writing can be read as badly as the last example—or it can sound and feel a bit more like this—

It’s not perfect, nothing ever is, but in the backstory the choir practiced more, they learned more about what works for them as a group and what didn’t.  They worked with people who were willing to make the needed changes to make it better.  As writers, this is a hidden gem.  

It’s the only way to improve the writing we have, to make it “all write”.  Even this blog grew and worked better when we improved and grew as writers, and that takes a lot of willingness to have some person critique your writing and show you how to improve.

The challenge is when you make the commitment to write you have to take all of your efforts and time to improve before you publish a book by any form you choose.  The music here is wonderful, and it might not be your style of music, that isn’t the point I’m making, the point is that without the practice and someone who knows what they are doing showing this choir, there wouldn’t be an improvement.
about writersJust sitting down and letting the words flow is as important as improving.  If you are worried that your writing being perfect, let it be for a moment, and breath.  It’s not impossible to improve, but it is possible to not see what should be done with the time you have.
Writing is about practice.  Even publishing a book takes time to do, if you want to have success.  The very act of writing is a start, and it’s alright to be a beginner—everyone was at some point.  You don’t want to be like the choir was in the first video you want to have more practice and someone to help you out.
That is what taking the time to improve your writing will do for you.  You will learn the “beat of a writer”, and you will also learn what it takes to improve your writing.

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