by Jo RobertsonI’ve never been a “So You Think You Can Dance” fan.
I know, I know. The whole concept is anathema to my childhood dream to be a dancer. Given that I’m a fairly clumsy, unrhythmic klutz, the dream was a fruitless one anyway.
Still, you’d think I’d have taken up this increasingly popular phenomenon called “So You Th
ink You Can Dance.”
ink You Can Dance.” But now I've reformed. I’m hooked. I love that show!
During her critique of one of last season’s performances, one of the judges said,
“It’s not about the steps.”
The steps are varied – quick or slow, complex or simple, smooth or jerky. But that’s not what the dance is about.
The dance is about the passion, the energy, the sheer heart and soul of the dancers – that special something that emanates from the execution of the steps.
What’s this got to do with writing? Writing is the same thing. Instead of dance steps, we talk about rules of writing; instead of the dancer’s heart, we speak of the writer’s voice; and instead of execution, we refer to a writer’s tone.
But what’s really important about a writer is his or her unique and individual panache, her one in a million sense of flair, her ability to elevate the work to an epic level that leaves the reader so moved, whether with sorrow, happiness, laughter, or pain, that she tingles both in her brain and in her body.
It doesn’t matter if the book is a romance, suspense, or comedy, the tingle has GOT to be there.
Lots of writers follow the formula. Put the correct words in the correct order. Dot the “i’s” and cross the “t’s.” But their books are quickly read and easily forgotten. The ones who stay with us, the ones we read over and over and over again, the ones we have double copies of – one for marking and one for preservation, and perhaps even one for an autograph if we’re lucky – those books are the ones that move out of the realm of the ordinary and into the arena of legend in our minds.
We writers all want to be that kind of writer. All readers want to read their stuff. All editors and agents want to discover those authors.
I’ve recently become hooked on Loretta Chase’s books. Some of her books are so beautiful, so precisely executed, so damned emotion-wrought that I cry. Okay, maybe I’m a great big boob, but I usually don’t have that “stop and think about what I just read” feeling except when I’m reading the classics.
So what about you?
Does your heart still pitter-patter when your lover does something unexpected for you?
Do you giggle uncontrollably during a ridiculously hilarious movie?
Or weep when one of your wee ones gets hurt, physically or emotionally?
Come on, tell us, share your stories. What moves you?
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