Post #1500960

Catching up on #WritersCoffeeClub for April 19: How can prose achieve lyricism without verse structure? I know that Aaron Sorkin is "cringe" in 2026 or whatever, but the way he intentionally writes dialogue to be musical should be studied by anyone who likes the idea of lyrical prose. Call & response, repeated phrases first by one speaker and then by another, punctuating phrases, line length, whitespace and silences, contrasts in intensity, rises and falls, varying register. I think people miss out on creating lyricism because they write and never hear their words. I am a very strong advocate for reading your work out loud to yourself as a check for character voice and musicality, and against purple prose and wordiness. Read it out loud! You'll feel silly but nothing is as effective a tool for revision as hearing your writing read aloud.