More Jazz for Less

I always listen to what I can leave out.
– Miles Davis

The act of creation involves many incarnations. Its genesis may be driven by energy and insight, or you may struggle just to get words down, draw a line, dab some paint. For the first draft, whatever strikes at the moment of inception will suffice – censoring has no place in this round. You will discover ideas or images show up you never dreamed of, or maybe because you dreamed them. Accept these intrusions as gifts – allow them to guide you. They may be more valuable than the original vision. In the process, you may devise clever turns of phrase, include an abundance of adjectives you believe will enhance each noun, or fall prey to “ly” adverbs convinced they will sharpen and emphasize. If drawing or painting, you may oversaturate, add excess lines, or paint or imagery.

On the second pass, consider pruning. In a letter to a friend, transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau wrote, “Not that the story need be long, but it will take a long while to make it short.” Begin to cut. The minimalist approach distills and uncovers the essence. Many turns of phrase, modifiers, or image glitter may be profound or poetic, but are they relevant? In the words of William Faulkner, “you must kill all your darlings,” part with these glimpses of brilliance. I marvel at the elegance of spare prose or the impact of a single image that demonstrates the skill and sensibility of an artist willing to part with the extraneous. It may take multiple revisions, but when you remove the scaffolding, you reveal the true work of art.

A Final Note: “Don’t listen to what’s there, listen to what’s not there.” ¬– Miles Davis

New course!
Learn to listen for what you can leave out.
Compressed Forms: Slice of Memoir, Flash Fiction, and Poetry
June 3 – July 1, 2013