The Write Stuff

Randy Newman. Singer, songwriter, composer, pianist.

So you want to write?

Here’s a simple truth I’ve garnered from reading about how writers work:

You’re going to have to commit time to put fingers to the keyboard. Or, in the case of Stephen King and James Patterson, put pen or pencil to paper.

You can’t wait for the muse to arrive – your muse may not turn up. He or she may be indisposed.

You can’t rely on technique or experience – previous endeavour is no guarantee of future success.

You can’t hold back writing because the thought isn’t yet perfectly formed – you can always come back to craft and finesse a rough draft, the caveat is you need to commit to rattling off the raw version.

You can’t necessarily know where the time will take you, but you have to have faith that if you are strict about putting the time in, the ideas will follow.

I was reading an interview with Randy Newman, American singer /songwriter / composer / pianist. Over a prolific fifty-year career, he’s brought us ‘Short People’, ‘You’ve got a friend in me’, and has composed the soundtracks for Toy Story 1, 2, 3 as well as the upcoming Toy Story 4. Randy talked about the importance of a strict work schedule – just putting in the hours. He works from eight till five if he’s working on a movie or from eight till noon if he’s writing songs. Here’s how he expressed his faith in the process:

“I’m just sitting at the piano, trying to find something I can get a ride on.”

Randy Newman, January, 2018.

Here’s a link to the full interview the Guardian conducted with Randy Newman:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jan/21/randy-newman-trump-ivanka-song-toy-story-smiths