What Michael Jackson has taught me about writing
Friday, November 27, 2009
My girlfriend and I headed out to see The Blind Side the other day. Trouble was, I misread the playing time and we got there about three hours too early.
We stared at the list of other films and spotted This Is It. Turns out neither one of us had seen it yet, and we were there just in time to catch it like a good beat.
And yeah, I got a little sad. Especially when you saw the footage of the dancers who made it into the show. To be part of the Michael Jackson tour was huge. No, bigger than huge. Their careers were totally made, if they weren't made already. Too bad the tour never made it past rehearsals.
But this post isn't about them, it's about MJ.
Even in rehearsals, he knew what he wanted. He brought it and expected everyone involved with the show to bring it. Over and over and over again.
At one point, MJ was discussing with the band on how one number should be played. He said, "This is how the audience expects to hear it." And that really resonated with me.
Why? Because he got it, brought it and made sure everyone around him lived it. This tour was his thank-you to the fans who supported him.
And sometimes, well, a lot of the time, I find myself saying "this is **it" instead of "this is it." Sure, it's part of the process, but am I doing myself any favours putting my work down?
Probably not. I think there are enough naysayers and critical types out there to tell me how hard it is to succeed and how difficult things will become when I get published.
All I can do right now is sing, er, write my heart out. And maybe put on sparkly socks...
We stared at the list of other films and spotted This Is It. Turns out neither one of us had seen it yet, and we were there just in time to catch it like a good beat.
And yeah, I got a little sad. Especially when you saw the footage of the dancers who made it into the show. To be part of the Michael Jackson tour was huge. No, bigger than huge. Their careers were totally made, if they weren't made already. Too bad the tour never made it past rehearsals.
But this post isn't about them, it's about MJ.
Even in rehearsals, he knew what he wanted. He brought it and expected everyone involved with the show to bring it. Over and over and over again.
At one point, MJ was discussing with the band on how one number should be played. He said, "This is how the audience expects to hear it." And that really resonated with me.
Why? Because he got it, brought it and made sure everyone around him lived it. This tour was his thank-you to the fans who supported him.
And sometimes, well, a lot of the time, I find myself saying "this is **it" instead of "this is it." Sure, it's part of the process, but am I doing myself any favours putting my work down?
Probably not. I think there are enough naysayers and critical types out there to tell me how hard it is to succeed and how difficult things will become when I get published.
All I can do right now is sing, er, write my heart out. And maybe put on sparkly socks...
posted by Bonnie Staring at 12:11 AM
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