It’s All A Learning Process

The other day I was thinking about how the writing process has played a role in learning in a discipline (or disciplines) other than English. As a music maker I like to write songs as vignettes to convey a specific character’s perspective. They often take place in a single location. Perhaps entirely in a character’s head. For these, the beginnings, middles, and endings culminate in simple a-ha moments which are then set to music. Some stories span large periods and have drastic swings in narrative, but many of my songs don’t. My songs are mere snapshots in time.

The storytelling method I’ve learned leads to completed expressions of ideas packaged in digestible chunks. It’s in the writing and re-writing process that these narratives, serving as clues to the current state of a character, allow me to understand when I’m successful. It’s only when I complete my work and make an effort to share it with others that I can receive feedback, ideally from listeners who have had my songs stuck in their heads for days.