What you can learn about writing from Tina Turner

October 19, 1:25 PMNY Writing Careers ExaminerTad Richards

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Illustration by Tad Richards

Surely, one of the best spoken intros to any recorded song is the one Tina Turner gives to "Proud Mary." She says:

Y' know, every now and then, I think you might like to hear something from us nice and easy.
But there's just one thing. You see we never ever do nothing nice and easy. We always do it nice... and rough.

Then, of course, she proceeds to do it both ways, starting out nice and easy and finishing nice and rough.

Learn to do it both ways. Learn all the technique you can. As a guitarist friend of mine said about using a capo to change the pitch of the strings: "Why should anyone use a capo? You should learn to play in every key." If you're a painter, learn anatomy and learn to draw even if you're going to paint wild abstractions like Jackson Pollock. If you start out just trying to paint like Pollock, you'll never paint anything but imitation Pollocks.
If you're a poet, learn meter. Learn to write in forms. Learn how to open up forms and write in sprung rhythms or long Ginsberg-lines or short Williams-lines. If you're a novelist, work at developing an ear for dialog. Work at description. Work at taking your plot in new directions, whether or not that means having a character come busting through the door with a gun in his hand
Then...when you can do it all...do what you want. Don't let anyone talk you into doing something nice and easy when you never ever do nothing nice and easy. Do it your way: nice...and rough.