VM6: We Got The Beat

The Week Ahead

March is a big swing month in the arc of the year, so this is the perfect time to think about what you want to make happen next. Are you ready to shake off the torpor (you heard me) of the colder months and start warming up for what lies ahead? How will you shock and amaze us with your fleetness of foot and and feats of strength? One thing I'm sensing — yes, from way over here — is that something big and gorgeous is coming up for you soon. 

Seems like everyone I know is either frolicking someplace warm right now, or about to head off to some big city somewhere. Well, what can you do. It’s that time of year.

And while I don’t tend to go in much for the whole tropical vibe, I do see the point of the big city jaunt. We all need a little variety to spice up our life. Something to break up the routine, even if that routine is one we love.

I live in a small, seaside town, so when I need a change, I often look to the bright lights. I love where I live, but it can get pretty sedate here in the off-season months. It's easy to forget how absolutely vital it is that I heave my personal self over the bridge sometimes and shake myself up.

Now, since my company has a physical office in the nearest city to me, where attendance is optional but available, I can do both. I can go to the city one day a week, gather up seven days' worth of those big city vibes, then scamper back home for some sweet peace and calm. For a really long time, that's just what I did. It was a rhythm and habit that worked great for me.

For some reason or other, I’ve been out of that rhythm for the last several months. And boy, am I feeling it. I am feeling it hard.

What I seem to have forgotten is that I need that interruption to the beat of my life. I need that dose of difference, from time to time. It's best if it isn't too regular, or it becomes predictable, too. Is syncopation the word I'm looking for? Probably. Sure.

So I’ll be heading to the big city for a few days soon. That ought to set me up for the next little while. And then I can get back to my regular beat.

It's similar to how I think about layering in the unexpected, or the fun, to the writing we do. Folks who work in product content are often asked to add some zing or delight to their content designs. You know, can you make it pop?

A little joke? A clever pun? Would an emoji work here? For sure, yes, I love that journey for us. But while I am all in on delight — really, ask anyone, delight is my jam  — I do think it calls for a brief pause to reflect. Let's take a second to think about the big picture first.

If we just took the short view, and said sure, why not, let's add some zing here! we might find ourselves overloading on fun. Yeah, you know what I mean. I think we've all seen writing that's trying too hard to be chummy, working too hard to be fun.

And sometimes it's not the right time to just sort of fling out a pun. Because what happened before this moment, right now? And what's about to happen next, once this moment has passed? 

Nobody needs a pun in an alert that says their credit card is declined. Even a good joke can fall flat if it's not told at the right time.

Shakespeare is noted for giving us a good laugh right after his heaviest scenes. He does it because that's when we need it the most. That's literally why it's called comic relief.

Okay, so I'm no Shakespeare. What does any of this folderol have to do with me? Or with you?

Here are a few ways I've approached keeping the beat in the past:

How do you like to find the beat in your writing? How do you change things up?

Hipper Than Hip

Honestly in my opinion one of the best songs of all time, and my favorite example of syncopation and the judicious use of a hi-hat. Yes, I'm a band nerd. You knew this about me. What is Hip, by the great Tower of Power. Yeah, you guessed it — this is your weekly cue to get up and dance.

Folderol

This word (or phrase, if you prefer it that way) literally started out life as a way to fill in the rhythm of lyrics with a few nonsense syllables that meant nothing at all. I used to think it came from something like foi de roi, or foolishness of the king, but I probably made that up. Or dreamed it. I do that sometimes.