How to Find Your Writing Rhythm with Marsha Casper Cook


Writing Rhythm is what I perceive to be my own writing style. Over the years, I have realized that when writing a poem, a novel, or a screenplay my voice is what I feel in my heart. When I write I try to be honest with my feeling and never try to write like anyone else.

There are some days when I write something I really don’t like but I usually don’t discover that until the next day. I then ask myself what was I thinking when I wrote that. There is usually no answer to that question, so I go on and hope that my story will come to me. Usually my stories come to me in small segments. I am happy about that because it takes time to know your characters so you can develop them and maintain the rhythm of a smooth sorry that flows naturally.   

Most of the time when I can’t seem to figure out where my story is going I close my eyes and place myself into the situation that my character is in.  My characters are not me they are just coming from thoughts and ideas that I may have on the subject good or bad.

When I write I try to be flexible and go with the flow. I always hope that my characters come to life and they usually do. When I speak about writing, I tell stories about how I sometimes write a letter as the character and try to understand the problems my character may or may not have. If they have no problems, they are not real. They also have to have a past to get to where they are at the time I am writing about them. When I’m finished and happy with the storyline I always hope that the next day when I re - read it again and again I will be happy with what I have written. If not, I re- thinks my thoughts and makes changes or start again. If at the end of the day I don’t like my storyline and I don’t think the reader will I begin again and inevitably it does become better with a better flow and a realistic rhythm.   


Author Bio:
Marsha Casper Cook is the author of six published books and 11 feature-length screenplays, a literary agent with 15 years of experience and the host of a radio talk show about the business of writing and entertainment, “A Good Story is a Good  Story,” on the Red River Radio network. She and her guests discuss writing and what’s new in the entertainment field. This year, she also began hosting another talk show “The Whole Truth”; on this show she and her guests discuss day to day issues that effect family life. Marsha has also appeared as a guest on other network shows and will continue to make frequent visits to other shows.

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1 comment:

Karen Cioffi said...

Ah, the writing process. Thanks for the interesting post!

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