Don't write words, write music
Run an article through the four-part musicality test. It’s no guarantee of clarity, but clear and intriguing writing tends to do well on all measures.
- Writing rhythm —do the sentences vary? Color code them: 1-3 words yellow, 4-8 red, 9-13 green, 13+ blue.
- Article form —does the structure vary in a subtle, pleasant way?
- Argument harmony —is it easil
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People naturally remember musical language, and I would encourage writers to inject their prose with a bit of music. When you’re writing, think about repetition and variety. Crescendos and rests. Pace and punctuation. Read your work out loud, and feel the rhythm of the words in your voice.
Derek Thompson • Why Simple Is Smart
Music done right captures a resonance between math and language.
Harmony/rhythm is basically a space/time language that is mathematical (an octave is a unit of space, a measure is a unit of time, and it’s all about how you carve and layer within those units). Lyrics are obviously the linguistic half of it. In the most basic songs, a nice poem is la
... See moreI think we all want to be heard and music is a way to let out our inner emotional life, sometimes in a way that can’t necessarily be understood any other way. It functions different than prose or storytelling in that the music has an emotional base to it, even without the words. So you can feel this energy and express whatever’s going on inside of
... See moreOn Being • Rick Rubin — Magic, Everyday Mystery, and Getting Creative
