Tuesday 25 March 2014

"How Paul Weller and The Jam can help writers improve their writing" by Tony Biancotti at the efangelist blog


Do you want to make your writing more “real” to your readers?

Well, you can – by borrowing from the powerful yet brief descriptive style of singer-songwriter Paul Weller.

I first “got into” Weller’s lyrics – as a huge fan of the band The Jam.

I played in uni  bands in Australia –  with a big UK influence!

I loved the music of the Jam and the “intelligence” and novelistic detail of Paul Weller’s lyrics.

One of my favourite Jam songs is That’s Entertainment – for the lyrics.

It’s not like the usual energetic and electric Jam songs. Musically, it is quite pedestrian (compared to their other songs) – but lyrically it is brilliant!

It’s acoustic with just light percussion and “easy” lyrics that flowed quickly to Weller.

Weller says he just described what was going on around him.

The lyrics describe the non-glamorous working-class life and what passes for entertainment.

What appeals to me about the lyrics – and what YOU can use to make your writing more REAL is:

1. how the descriptions appeal to  many senses – especially smells and sounds

2. The use of the sound of words – a device called onomatopoeia -  where the word sounds like its meaning

3. The understatement where the reader “fills in the blanks” as to what’s happening. The reader adds more meaning and gets “involved” in co-creating the work.

These days I work as a writing coach and trainer. I still enjoy my Jam and Paul Weller music – any my parka!

I’m getting 2014 off to s strong start with my blogging too and I’ll share in a future post what YOU can learn from Paul Weller’s powerful descriptive writing

If you’d like to improve your writing: Here are some quick tips.

1.Release The Verb

2.How nouns can save your butt!

3.Use visual language

4.Parallel Structure

 
By Tony Biancotti

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BREAKING NEWS: The Mark Three to play the IPO Festival at The Cavern, Liverpool, on Sunday 2nd June

  The Mark Three's stage times for Sunday 2nd June are: - 5.15pm The Cavern Pub 7.00pm The Cavern Club