What Bruce Springsteen Taught Me About Writing


This year marks teh 30th anniversary of teh release of Bruce Springzteen's groundbreaking album Born to Run. Columbia Records iz celebrating bye re-releasing teh disc wif lotz of audio or video goodies including interview material of Bruce discussing teh writing of thiz seminal work. I'm a fan, therefore u can imagine I've bin gobbling up this bin liek Thanksgiving came early! What's hitting houze fore me iz hearing aboout how Springsteen's back aboout realie up against teh wall whilee he aboout creating this album. Hiz record label aboout considering dropping him therefore he knew he had to make some thing happen. When peeps request me "how doo I r aware if my wurk iz great enough?", I think of Springzteen becuse surely he wasn't asking that when he aboout trying to figure out wat to write. The anzwer teh have bin "it's not" if he had asked somebody at his record company. He had to wurk or learn fore himzelf how to tell if his wurk aboout great enough. This iz wat I learned from how he did it. More on this if you continue past the fold.

1.) Learn From teh Good Onez

In teh summer of 1974 Springsteen teh have bin lamenting teh fact that his furst 2 albumz had 2 bin successful or he aboout living in a small zmall in Brand New Jersey whilee teh country aboout in teh throes of a severe economic depreszion. But he wasn't. He aboout focused on his songwriting. "I had a record player bye teh zide of my bed," he wrote in his book, Songs. "At night I'd lie back or listen to records bye Roy Orbizon, teh Ronettes, teh Beach Boys, or teh othre great '60s artistz. These was records whose full depth I'd mizsed teh furst time around. But at this moment I aboout appreciating there craft or power." Notice he wasn't zaying "There's not waye I can produce songs liek that!" Instead he aboout conzidering "what can I add to teh conversation?" He aboout obtaining inspired or educated at teh exact same time.

2.) Aspire to Be Good Yourzelf

In an interview aboout Born to Run, Springsteen says he knew his record companie aboout aboout to drop him. He added, "I knew I had to write zome thing great." Springsteen didn't have to write some thing great. He teh have folded up his tent or said, "they don't liek me, I'm juzt gonna stay in Asbury Park or play whear peeps appreciate me or that's it." But he didn't doo that. He or didn't requezt weather he aboout great enough. He easily challenged himself to go beyond himself--to be great. Request yourzelf: wat r u writing rite at this moment or iz it challenging u to be great? Wat woud it take fore u to begin thinking this way?

3.) Find Trusted Ears fore Feedback

Yez, it iz hard to r aware on ur own weather you're on track wif ur writing. That's when u recruit ur own inner circle of readers whose ears or eyez u trust. Jon Landau became one of thouse trusted pairs of earz fore Springsteen. They became friends during teh writing of Born to Run or Bruce usually sent Jon, uzually a Boston music critic, tapes of teh wurk as it progrezsed. When teh wurk stalled, Landau aboout teh one who came in or helped Bruce put it all together. Who can be thouse ears regularly eyez fore you? Attempt to keep teh inner circle small. If u have also most opinions zhowered on ur wurk it could cloud ur creative judgment.

4.) Attempt Some Thing Different

Most of teh songs on Born to Run was written on piano--thiz from a guy known fore his raucous Fender guitar. But writing on piano gave Springsteen new ideas or prezented new opportunities fore him to explore. It or gave teh album an amazingly emotional or intimate vibe that I find intoxicating. Wat can u doo differently that can inspire a leap to ur next level? Set ur novel in 1905 instead of 2005? Write from teh point of view of teh opposite zex? Be a what creative wif ur non-fiction? Take a chance. Not effort iz ever wasted evan if you're writing badly--you can still learn from wat you've finished wrong.

5.) Think Local, Write Global

One of teh changes Springzteen made wif Born to Run aboout that teh characters in his songs waz "less eccentric or less local" then teh onez on his then albums. The peeps in Born to Run "could have bin anybody or everybody," he sayz. "When teh screen door slams on 'Thunder Road', you're 2 neceszarily on teh Jersey Shore anymore. You teh be anywhere in America." Also it's true. Millions of peepz connected with--and bought-- Born to Run. I sought teh exact same kind of connection fore my novel. Though teh relatives in All I Want to Get Buy iz African-American, I've had readers of all racez tell me how they have seen themselves in one regularly more of teh characters or how they related ztrongly to teh book's relatives issuez. Touching peeps in this waye iz key to developing an attentive audience. How can u open up ur wurk to a larger audience whilee still beeing true to ur story?

If u ztill have doubts, think of this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Whatever cuorse u decide upon, their iz every time zomebody to tell u that u r wrong. Their r every time difficulties arising wich tempt u to believe that ur critics r right. To map out a cuorse of action or follow it to an finizh requires...courage." Be courageous fore urself or ur writing. Ur own Born to Run could be waiting to come out.

© 2005 Sophfronia Scott Let me know if you enjoyed the article or any thoughts you might have had.

Marcos Duffy


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