Friday, December 17, 2004
Tin Ear
I wrote something yesterday that had ring and rhythm. It flowed from thought to thought far better than much of my writing. I was happy. I seemed to have reached a higher plane.
As a precaution, I took it to a colleague who graciously edits my work. He thought it was terrible but could be rescued. I laughed. Once again, my tin ear had gotten me into trouble. I remembered a movie in which a Chinese chef had no sense of taste so he kept an old cook at his side who told him when the food was right or not.
Some write word music, but most don't. I'm one of the latter who picks out one-fingered tunes on a keyboard. Fortunately, most PR writing is one-fingered and doesn't need the harmonics of poetry or fiction. And, all of it needs editing. I have never understood those who believe their writing doesn't need a second look. It's a peculiar sense of arrogance. Even Mark Twain read his work daily to his family to get their reactions.
But I still meet people in this business who don't want their work to be touched. Unfortunately, they are usually bad writers.
As a precaution, I took it to a colleague who graciously edits my work. He thought it was terrible but could be rescued. I laughed. Once again, my tin ear had gotten me into trouble. I remembered a movie in which a Chinese chef had no sense of taste so he kept an old cook at his side who told him when the food was right or not.
Some write word music, but most don't. I'm one of the latter who picks out one-fingered tunes on a keyboard. Fortunately, most PR writing is one-fingered and doesn't need the harmonics of poetry or fiction. And, all of it needs editing. I have never understood those who believe their writing doesn't need a second look. It's a peculiar sense of arrogance. Even Mark Twain read his work daily to his family to get their reactions.
But I still meet people in this business who don't want their work to be touched. Unfortunately, they are usually bad writers.
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