I got rhythm, I got music, I got my man
Who could ask for anything more?
I've got daisies in green pastures
I've got my man
Who could ask for anything more?
~ Ella Fitzgerald~
I love Ella and just this very moment got the bright idea to copy her music. Just for fun and to experience her rhythm. Putting her on the copy work list. Which brings me to writing rhythm. It's another one from Sage Cohen's list which is probably going to take me the whole year to finish working through.
What kind of writing rhythm do you want?
Rhythm implies music, tone, balance, pitch, chords on the page, making up a song. Individual chords and words working together to make up a whole. A song. Pretty music that is great to listen to and we're able to play without discord. How are you going to tune it? Like a guitar or a piano with strings in alignment, tuned by ear or using one of those electronic gizmos? Do you like to play by ear or by design?
You want the joy of the music. The inspiration it brings. Learning how to play guitar and piano growing up meant lessons, learning to read the notes, where to place your fingers until it became muscle memory. Once it became automatic, you began to make music. In your case, sort of. *grin* Sometimes it was out of tune, other times not. So how does it apply to your writing rhythm? You've had plenty of practice. You've learned the chords. It's time to play and make music.
How does writing fit into the Rhythm of your life may be the better question to ask. There is a joy in creativity, letting the words flow from the pen to the page, from fingertips to the keyboard.
You stumbled across this tidbit The Rhythm of life from David Drury in which he said -- "Rhythm is about cadence and tempo, regularity and measure. Rhythm cannot exist without two factors - beat and time. Our lives have a seeming infinity of 'beats.' Each activity and habit we engage in - each relationship and responsibility -- are 'moments' that are the beats of life..."
Maybe fit in isn't the right question either. Your writing ebbs and flows, evolves and devolves as you do. It's something you do every day, like reading. Some days you write for hours, other days minutes. Writing is becoming more natural. You're no longer fitting it in. Writing simply is part of your life now. And as with all things in life, it is a relationship of give and take and has to be tended to daily.
"When you know what you want and pay attention to the choices you make, you can discover how your options and desires are aligned - or out of alignment. With clarity, you can make choices about adjusting your practices so that they move you toward what you want to do, be, and have." ~ Sage Cohen