Sondheim advice
Oh, hi friends!
Stephen Sondheim said he never wanted to do the same thing twice. Perhaps that’s why every lyric, melody, character, story, and emotion felt so distinct, so alive.
Among all the tributes to the composer and lyricist (including the wonderful NYT obituary, this Vulture piece by Mark Harris, and a remembrance in the New Yorker) there are also hundreds of personal stories: writers he mentored, or wrote notes on his signature letterhead. He made time for others — he made time, the one thing any writer will tell you they don’t have enough of.
We all love to hear about writers’ routines. Steve used yellow legal pads and Blackwing pencils and a Clement Wood rhyming dictionary and wrote lying on his couch, acting out every line of every song in character. But sharing these details seemed less about the what or the how than the why. Because it wasn’t a stroke of genius, he would say, but hard work and rigor that made a piece work. Finding the unexpected rhyme, the singable adjective, or whether a contraction might be heard by the back row of the balcony. One of his writing principles was “God is in the details.” You always need to dig a little bit more to find them. He showed you it was always worth it.
What will an audience like? What will readers enjoy? What will my agent appreciate? Does this sound like Steve? Does this sound like Nora Ephron? Does this sound like last year’s Tony winner? Does this sound like a New York Times bestseller? Steve knew it was a losing game to try to initiate someone else. He learned that from his mentor, Oscar Hammerstein, who told him, “Write what you believe…write what you believe and you’ll be 99% ahead of the game. You’ll be 99% ahead of everybody else.”
Sondheim was once asked if he could pass on advice to someone struggling with her commitment to being an artist. He did not say “buy these pencils” or “try to write like me.” No, he said, “Put a show on. Write something. Put it on. Write something. Put it on. Write something. Put it on. Everybody gets discouraged. Just go do it. Write something. Put it on. Write something. Put it on.”
Whatever your hat may be, listen to Steve. Now is the time to put it on.
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Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara