For some reason, I've been spending a lot of time thinking about writing compared to composing a song. Don't ask me why - I have no clue how/why my brain works the way it does. I've just been thinking about it way more than I should be, so hopefully by writing my thoughts down, I can get them out of my head and move on with my life.
First, let's consider writing a song.
You want to be a composer - piano, let's say. Well, first, you have to play piano. To start, you play music by other composers. You start to learn things like chords. Like what notes sound good together. Like how to use dynamics to get the feelings you want out of your audience. You learn this because other composers have done it before you, and you learn from their work.
Once you've played enough, you start composing. At first it's just a few scribbles here and there, a few notes plunked down. You learn what works and what doesn't. Most of it is crap, at first, but then there are a few moments of brilliance, and soon the moments of brilliance come more and more frequently. You learn how to string notes together; at first a couple phrases, but eventually, a whole song. It's probably pretty plagarized at first, but you soon learn how to put your own spin on songs, and soon you can compose things that are completely original.
Now, for fun, let's replace some of the words.
composer = writer
piano = genre of your choice
play = read
music = books
chords = sentence structure
note = word
dynamics = tropes
phrase = scene
song = book
In case you're too lazy to replace the words, I did it here:
You want to be a writer - cozy mysteries, let's say. Well, first, you have
to read cozy mysteries. To start, you read books by other writers. You start
to learn things like sentence structure. Like what words sound good together. Like
how to use tropes to get the feelings you want out of your audience.
You learn this because other writers have done it before you, and you
learn from their work.
Once you've read enough, you
start writing. At first it's just a few scribbles here and there, a
few words plunked down. You learn what works and what doesn't. Most of
it is crap, at first, but then there are a few moments of brilliance,
and soon the moments of brilliance come more and more frequently. You
learn how to string words together; at first a couple scenes, but
eventually, a whole book. It's probably pretty plagarized at first, but
you learn how to put your own spin on books, and soon you can write things that are completely original.
I feel like most arts are related in this way. First, you learn by studying the masters - listening to their songs, reading their books, seeing their art, watching their movies, watching them dance. After seeing enough, you can start to pick out techniques, and then you try them out - you imitate the artist. Eventually, you have enough techniques to draw on that you can create something entirely new - put your own spin on a technique.
Never stop reading. Never stop writing. Never stop trying new things. And don't be afraid to imitate*. That's how you learn and grow.
*I mean in practice. I don't advocate selling plagarized stuff. That would be bad.
