Point Count-Point

People have asked me what makes a good writer. I’m not sure I know how to answer that, although I do believe there may be some common characteristics. For example, I think most writers are solitary, or at the very least, are OK with spending vast amounts of time alone. Writers are also able to observe the commonalities of human existence, yet understand how to filter that through their own viewpoints and experience.

What inspired this post, however, was something else entirely. Writers have chosen the written word as their way of expressing the artist in themselves. Like the visual arts, a novel or story is created and then polished, prodded, and edited until (hopefully), it is the best it can be. The product exists for viewing any time, any place, as perfect as the day it was completed.

Not so with the performing arts. In a sense, you are only as good as your last soliloquy, debate, or pirouette; every time you put yourself out there the possibility of failure or excellence is equally represented. Writing is not scary…disappointing and frustrating yes, but never frightening, at least for me. Conversely, no matter how hard you practice or how bad you want to be fantastic, a performance may flop.

And that’s scary.

But isn’t writing a risk, you may ask? Absolutely. Every story exposures a piece of the author’s soul and the rejection of something so personal can be hard. But at least you have done your best when you send a story or novel to a publisher; you don’t have to compose on the spot.

And so perhaps we writers need a counter-point to spending hours and hours constructing that hoped for perfection. If you’ve read my dancing blog I write with my husband you will already know another passion is dancing. Dancing is, of course, performance art. It gets me out if the house and with other people, but I think most importantly dancing forces me to take the risk of not being perfect.

No performance one does over and over can always be “on”. You will have an off night whether you want to or not. I’ve written other blogs posts concerning work ethics and how a writer has to be disciplined. You will also note that I stated moving your writing profession forward doesn’t have to mean actual writing; you can market, edit, or research topics.

I learned this because of my dancing. Sometimes, no matter how hard I try, ideas just don’t come…shock of shocks, I was having an “off” writer’s day. Through dancing, I now know that creativity, like performance, ebbs and flows. But that’s OK. The stories will come. I don’t have to worry during those times the flow just isn’t there. Tomorrow is a other day of writing, just like next week maybe I will do that rumba step correctly.

And although the two activities are very different, selling a story and having an “on” dancing night instills the same feeling of joy and exhilaration. If you are a fellow author, maybe dancing isn’t for you, but perhaps another “in the moment” activity could be: storytelling, teaching, sports, acting, and good old conversation are all performance arts.

Try it. I’ve come to love having both in my life.