The Writing Basics: A Seven-Beat

I dance salsa. At least, I try. I wouldn’t say I’m very good at it, but I enjoy it. The trick with dancing salsa, as with any dance, is never to forget the basic. In this case, it’s a dance based on a seven-beat step. No matter how complicated a turn or shine (footwork) is, it’s based on that basic seven-beat.

Writing is much the same way; without its “basic,” things fall apart. The draft spins out of control and either hurtles to the floor or into the couple dancing next to it. For that reason, the writing basics have to be reviewed regularly.

A List of Seven (or the Writing Seven-Beat Basic)

1. The basics provide direction. They remind you to keep the verb tense in agreement. They require that you not abandon a subject – your dance partner – in the middle of a blog post or chapter.
2. The basics give clarity. They remind you of what is essential: nouns and verbs. Adverbs and adjectives? They’re styling, shines.
3. The basics keep the rhythm. Subject, verb, end stop. Subject, verb, question mark. These things form the basic rhythms of writing. Get them right, and you’ll know when to insert a fragment – a pause – and when the rhythm is devolving into run-on sentences or out-of-control spins.
4. The basics close a piece. In salsa, a basic turn or a basic cross-body lead has to be closed even as the dancers transition into the next step. The same is true of writing. The basics remind you to close a sentence, paragraph, or essay before moving onto the next sentence, paragraph, or essay.
5. The basics prevent extra steps. One of the reasons to practice the basics over and over and over again in salsa is to prevent shuffling haphazardly into place. The same is true of writing. Practicing the basics makes it easier to circumvent awkward pauses and extra words and to get to actual act of writing faster.
6. The basics can become more than the basics. In salsa, the basic remains the same, but it can be adapted to a side-step salsa, a walking forward or backward step, and even a diamond step. The basic doesn’t change, merely the application of it. The same can happen with writing. The writing basics are the basics, but they can be transformed through their arrangement.
7. The basics are the basics. One of the challenges found in the writing life is the strength to continue when the writing doesn’t come easy. On those days, you have to return to the basics. The basics will bring you into rhythm and clarity again.

Do you think the basics are important? If so, why?

Image: Francesco de Francesco (CC BY NC SA 2.0)

A version of this post originally appeared at Leaders West on April 29, 2013.