Read — other people's writing, song lyrics — if you want to write better

A recent HBO documentary — "Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists" — profiled the careers of Jimmy Breslin and Pete Hamill, superstar New York newspaper columnists. Between them, they also wrote dozens of nonfiction books and novels.

In the film, the interviewer asked Hamill what advice he had for writers. He had a simple answer:

"Read."

By reading a lot, you not only can learn a lot, but you also can get the feel of the rhythm and pace of excellent writing.

That feel can find its way into your own writing.

The substance of our own adventures feeds our writing.

Reading other writers' living adventures expands our universe and can enrich our writing.

Have you ever thought of looking for examples in the lyrics of tunes from the Great American Songbook, lyrics by such giants as Cole Porter and Oscar Hammerstein?

Those lyrics embody simplicity — a standard we should embrace — and, even without hearing the music, we can feel the rhythm.

I encourage you to read — and reread — lyrics like those appearing below.

Let them wash over you; you may find yourself saying, "It doesn't get any better than that."

Ah, but it does get better, when you experience a recording of these songs. That's why they are considered "standards," and why singers over the decades have performed them thousands of times.

You are the promised kiss of springtime

That makes the lonely winter seem long.

You are the breathless hush of evening

That trembles on the brink of a lovely song.

You are the angel glow that lights a star,

(Music: Jerome Kern/Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein)

In the still of the night

As I gaze from my window

At the Moon in its flight

My thoughts all stray to you.

Are you my life to be, my dream come true?

Or will this dream of mine fade out of sight

Like the Moon growing dim on the rim of the hill

In the chill, still of the night.

(Music and lyrics: Cole Porter)

You may never find yourself writing something that tries to match the sophistication of Cole Porter's internal rhymes — "Growing dim on the rim of the hill, in the chill, still of the night" — but your writing can deliver a sense of flow and grace.

Or, think of it this way: Duke Ellington wrote the music; Irving Mills, the lyrics.

"It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing."