Author Help: 'Studio Vocalist" Syndrome · 5:18am May 17th, 2015
Hello, one and all!
Here I am, sitting in my chair listening to a great song, when all of a sudden I get an idea to publish a blog post to help all of you writers out there! I'm just that cool.
Anyway, today's blog will be all about something I made up called SVS(Studio Vocalist Syndrome). What is it? Do you have it? How do you get rid of whatever it is?
I will show you below the break!
Going to concerts is a lot of fun. The environment, the music, the opportunity to meet with some of your favourite bands - It all adds up to a great time. But tell me, how many times have you personally seen and/or watched one of your favourite bands live and they just didn't sound... oh, what's the word.. good? Yeah, they just didn't sound good.
Unless all the artists you listen to lip sync, you know what I'm talking about. But if not, let me give you an example:
Original song, vs the live version
As you can probably tell, the live version just doesn't seem as good as the recorded version. The energy is lacking, vocals are a bit off and the whole experience seems to lack a fun vibe. Now, that's not to say the band has no talent. In fact. the singer has a great voice and the band can play, but the problem comes when they project it to the audience. It just doesn't come together that well.
Now, what does this have to do with writing you may ask? Well, here's what:
A ways back I was talking with a friend regarding her writing, and from what I understood, her issue came down to how she was able to present her stories to an audience. I mean, she had all the talent in the world, but she couldn't seem to consistently use that talent in a way that made her stories interesting to the public.
That, my friends, is what I call SVS: People who have great talent with writing, but are unable to present it to the audience how they want.
Now, how do you know if you have it? Well, odds are, if you can recognize you have talent, yet you consistently find your stories being ignored or they find a lack of good critical reception you probably have it.
It can definitely be frustrating, but there are ways to conquer it, a couple of which I will discuss.
#1. Know your audience.
This is really important. When you're writing, think of who will be reading it. That doesn't mean you have to stop writing what interests you, but it does mean you have to do a little extra work with things like word use, length, tone and other general stuffs to make sure the people that you want to read it actually enjoy reading it. If you don't, it'd be the same thing as giving a banana to your pet dog. Bananas are delicious, sure, but you'll be disappointed if you expect your dog to feel the same way.
#2. Take Chances
This is also important. If you want to stick out amongst the herd of writers on this site, you need to write something people will remember. So, in light of that, don't be afraid to take chances and try new stuffs. Odds are it won't be perfect, but that won't matter if it's fun, interesting and exciting. People will love to read it just because it's something they don't always get to see. I mean, think of it like this. When you see a musical artist live, they don't have to sound the same as the album to sound good. But if they can get the room moving and project energy to the crowd, then you're gonna have a good time.
Remember this phrase: It's not about grammatical perfection, it's about Audience Projection.
Alright, I'm way too lazy to write any more about that, but you get the idea.
Anyway, the only legit way you can start conquering SVS if you are a sufferer is to begin immediately. Also, you'll need to get rid of your pride and realise a bit of change is necessary. You don't have to change what you want to write, but you do need to change how you write it.
So, what are you waiting for? Get going!
Sweet! I love "A Skylit Drive" I haven't listen to that song in forever!
really am starting to think that your calling in life should be along the lines of "counselor to the professionals" or something man. because, these tidbits here and there, they make a lot of sense.