I am a huge fan of brilliant singer/songwriters. Maybe because they live at the convergence of two of my greatest passions – words and music. Reigning as Queen atop the list of brilliant singer/songwriters that I HEART is Sara Bareilles. She enchants listeners with clever turns of phrase and the ability to write songs that feel like they were written about your life, your experiences.
Sara talks about her song Let the Rain in the video below. She says she had to ‘let the song be’ and get out of the way. As a person who is prone to overthinking and overanalyzing everything, this definitely struck a chord with me. Sometimes a story almost seems to write itself. But our inner critics keep stopping the flow. This is particularly the case when writers get caught up in trying to write a book that is ‘marketable’ rather than just trying to tell a great story.
Editing and revising is an essential part of any kind of writing. But overthinking every scene, every chapter, weighs down the story. Sometimes we just need to ‘let it be.’ Let the words flow from your brain, from your heart, from the mouths of your characters. Let the story become what it will. You can always go back and revise later.
Roxanne Ravenel (263 Posts)Roxanne is a freelance journalist and novelist living in North Carolina. Her alter ego, Reese Ryan, writes smart, spicy fiction populated by deliciously flawed, multicultural characters living in the Midwest and Southeast. Her debut novel, TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, will be published by Carina Press July 22, 2013. She is Managing Editor of the long-running e-zine, All Things Girl.
Roxanne Ravenel (263 Posts)Roxanne is a freelance journalist and novelist living in North Carolina. Her alter ego, Reese Ryan, writes smart, spicy fiction populated by deliciously flawed, multicultural characters living in the Midwest and Southeast. Her debut novel, TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, will be published by Carina Press July 22, 2013. She is Managing Editor of the long-running e-zine, All Things Girl.
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Because of you, Roxanne, I am now a fan of Sara Bareilles. I first fell in love with her here on your blog when I heard her sing “King of Anything” on a previous blog post. She definitely enchants listeners with clever turn of phrases, which is what I like most about her. So thank you for exposing her to me.
Also, I agree overthinking every scene, every chapter weighs down the story. It’s hard to get out of the way and “Let it Be,” but that’s exactly what we must do in order to let a good story flow. This is a great post. Thanks for sharing.
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