I hate silence when I'm writing; it's very unsettling for some reason. So I've grown accustomed to listening to music while I write. Right now I'm listening to my George Harrison playlist and "Any Road" came up on shuffle. I couldn't think of what I wanted to write for this week and good ole Georgie gave me some inspiration.
I have been going back and forth about how I want to approach my memoir, trying to think of what would work best before I even started. This wasn't really working for me. So I just started writing, going back to my feelings of when I was a seventh grader working on my Language Arts "end of the unit" project. I tried to add as much detail as I could to really put myself and readers in my mindset. I think this approach is an improvement for my draft. It still needs some work, but I will take improvement.
So, going back to George, I decided to spread some wisdom from the former Beatles lead guitarist. In "Any Road," he says:
You may not know where you came from
May not know who you are
May not have even wondered how you got this far
...
But if you don't know where you're going
Any road will take you there.
This reminds me of my writing memoir; it is hard for me to remember exactly how I felt or what my process for developing my project was. So when I wrote my latest draft, I decided to take George's advice. I wasn't sure where my draft would go, but any approach would take me "there"--a different, more reflective tone. And I think it did. As I said earlier, I think it still needs some more work, but overall I am satisfied with it right now. Thanks Georgie!
If you want to hear the song in its entirety, here's a link! (And for all you diehard Beatles fans, you'll notice some clips from the "A Hard Day's Night", "Yellow Submarine", and "Magical Mystery Tour" movies!)
George Harrison-Any Road
Love the George Harrison- although personally I have trouble listening to music while I write... I get too distracted... I think about Beatles when I should be thinking about drafts.
ReplyDeleteAlex Rummelhart
George is the best one of the Beatles hands down.
ReplyDeleteI love your comparison to these song lyrics- writing really is a road that you don't know where you are going or where you came from! It cane be such a surprise when you are at the end and it is a different part of memory than you expected. Love it.
I also enjoy the Beatles, but can't really listen to anything while I'm writing. I liked how you said that you weren't sure where your memoir was going because I feel the same way. I'm trying to write and let myself "write badly" if necessary. I can always change something later!
ReplyDeleteKristen, it looks to me like you've taken the "go with the flow" idea embedded in most of our readings so far, made it your own and run with it. I'm still struggling with which events really embody what I'm trying to say about my writing, and I almost feel like I'm changing the past to fit my current purpose. But like you, I'm going to try to spend less time worrying about following the "rules" and more time just writing.
ReplyDeleteI liked your inclusion of the song in this post. The idea that any road can be a potential route to the finished product really stuck home with me. This idea really connects with the sense I got from the readings that writing itself is a process of discovery, with something different to learn at each step. It's really interesting to me that we can take any road and discover different things about ourselves and our writing down each one.
ReplyDeleteI too am not entirely sure where my memoir is going; it's good to know that someone else feels the same way. Listening to music while trying to write always seems to help me concentrate.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Kristen. I struggled with finding a direction for my memoir until I decided to adopt a similar strategy: write to discover. It seems like the discovery method works best when writing and when designing a classroom environment. I also like how you drew your inspiration from music; perhaps this could be a good method to use in the classroom!
ReplyDeleteMackenzie
I, too, have to listen to music while I write and I love those moments when the music fits so perfectly with what you need to hear. Thanks for sharing the song!
ReplyDeleteI have to listen to music too. I often go to Capanna - where I am currently! - listening to Dashboard Confessional. I like the lull of the coffee shop, and while I will go to the library often, I need some buzz behind me. I have found that people, music, and movement around me keeps me going and I have produced some of best papers in that kind of atmosphere, within this very coffee shop.
ReplyDeleteI love that song! Good choice on writing music! :)
ReplyDeleteVery cool that it so directly inspired you. I also like to write, at least record ideas, with background music on. Usually when I'm actually finalizing what I've written I have to turn the music off or go to a song I can't sing along with. I get distracted too much if I love the background music. I agree though that music for some reason provides a spark in my head.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty obvious that everyone loves the song, and loves the idea of it. Let your writing help you find the road. Let your story tell itself through you. It's so wonderful that you can find inspiration like this song.
ReplyDeleteGetting over the hump and writing is probably one of the most challenging things we have to face as writers. It's important to acknowledge this in our kiddos too. The importance of a good prompt, a free-write activity, or even just a quiet (or loud) time for a student to think about writing can be as vital as anything else we provide for the process of writing.
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