Alerting Young Writers to the Value of Rehearsal- Alan j Wright

 

Writing has a dimension that extends well beyond the page and the pen.

    While the words spill across the page, the ideas driving them frequently arise well away from where the writing eventually takes place.

    As author, Jane Yolen notes in her book, Take Joy, ‘Writing is not always done on the page.’

    Experienced writers devote a significant amount of time to the preparation for writing. They may at various times, read, research, discuss, draw, plan, think, brainstorm, either individually, or in concert. 

    From these pre-writing activities they may simultaneously launch into rehearsal of words and ideas in locations well away from their favoured writing location.

    Rehearsal is an impressively portable concept. It can be conducted anywhere, anytime- in the car, in the shower, in a cafĂ©, at the beach, the airport, or just before you drift off to sleep. It can be activated while walking or listening to music. Words, phrases, sentence fragments, leads, lines and endings can be stirred up in the writer’s conscious mind.

    A single idea can be replayed and revised on multiple occasions until the necessary refinement takes place. Ideas are polished, words sharpened. Such concocted ideas remain suggestive to the writer. They may not translate to the page in a literal sense. It is however a most beneficial pre-writing experience for it possesses the power to influence writing outcomes in a positive way.

    A writer may experience multiple rehearsals around a single piece of writing- recurring visions of what might be possibly work when it comes to the actual writing.

    As an experienced writer I am profoundly aware of the amount of rehearsal I engage in. It consumes a considerable amount of my ‘non-writing’ activity. My mind is frequently abuzz with the constant rehashing of words and ideas. The more I engage in such behaviours, the easier it is for those ideas to materialize later in the process. Rehearsal stirs up a little magic. Renowned author and poet, Georgia Heard refers to rehearsal in this way- ‘Before I write there is a world of thinking, reflection and imagining that takes place.’

    So how do we as teachers of writing maximise the benefits of rehearsal in the minds of inexperienced writers? How do we assist them to reap the benefits of this invaluable writing strategy? To the inexperienced writer rehearsal might present as a somewhat nebulous concept.

    Our own particular process from the initial spark of an idea to the point where the words emerge on the page becomes critical to conveying the concept of rehearsal. As teachers we serve young writers well when we make a conscious effort to shine a light on this aspect of writing. We must make rehearsal an irresistible force by revealing how experienced writers embrace it to further enhance the writing that spills out across the page at some later stage. 

    Think of it as sharing a writing secret. A secret the young writer deserves to know, so they can experience the benefits it delivers.


‘Even when I’m not writing, I am getting ready to write. Reciting words, mulling ideas, sorting my thought. My mind is in motion.‘

Alan j Wright



Alan j Wright

https://www.alanjwrightauthorpoet.com/

Notebook Notions, available now from Amba Press



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