This year marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Bruce Springsteen’s groundbreaking album Born to Run. Columbia Records is celebrating by re-releasing the record with a wealth of audio and video, including interview material from Bruce on the writing of this pivotal work. I’m a fan so you can imagine I’ve been gobbling these things up like Thanksgiving is early.

What strikes me is hearing that Springsteen had his back against the wall while creating this album. His record label was considering quitting so he knew he had to make something happen. When people ask me “how do I know if my work is good enough?” I think of Springsteen because he surely wasn’t asking that when he was trying to figure out what to write. The answer might have been “it’s not” if you had asked someone from your record company. He had to work and learn for himself how to know if his work was good enough. This is what I learned from how he did it.

1.) Learn from the Greats

In the summer of 1974, Springsteen may have been lamenting the fact that his first two albums had been unsuccessful and he was living in a small house in New Jersey while the country was going through a severe economic depression. But it was not like that. He was concentrating on writing songs. “I had a record player next to my bed,” he wrote in his book, Songs. “At night I would go to bed and listen to records by Roy Orbison, the Ronettes, the Beach Boys and the other great artists of the sixties. They were records whose depth I had lost the first time. But now I was appreciating their craft and power.” Notice that he was not saying “There is no way I can create songs like this!” Instead, I was considering “what can I add to the conversation?” He was inspiring and educating himself at the same time.

2.) Aspire to be great yourself

In an interview about Born to Run, Springsteen says he knew his record company was about to quit. He added: “I knew I had to write something great.” Springsteen didn’t have to write something great. He could have folded his tent and said, “They don’t like me, I’ll stay in Asbury Park and play where people appreciate me and that’s it.” But he didn’t do that. He also didn’t ask if it was good enough. He just challenged himself to go beyond himself, to be great. Ask yourself: what are you writing right now? Does it challenge you to be cool? What would you need to start thinking this way?

3.) Seek Trusted Ears for Feedback

Yes, it is difficult to tell for yourself if you are on track with your writing. That’s when you recruit your own inner circle of readers whose ears and eyes you trust. Jon Landau became one of those trusted ear buddies for Springsteen. They became friends during the writing of Born to Run and Bruce often sent Jon, then a Boston music critic, tapes of the work as he went. When work stalled, Landau was the one who came in and helped Bruce put everything together. Who can those ears or eyes be for you? Try to keep the inner circle small. If you have too many opinions about your work, it can cloud your creative judgment.

4.) Try something different

Most of the songs on Born to Run were written on piano, this from a guy known for his raucous Fender guitar. But writing on the piano gave Springsteen new ideas and presented him with new opportunities to explore. It also gave the album an incredibly emotional and intimate vibe that I find intoxicating. What can you do differently that can inspire a leap to your next level? Do you set your novel in 1905 instead of 2005? Write from the point of view of the opposite sex? Get a little creative with your nonfiction? Take risks. No effort is ever wasted, even if you are typing badly; you can still learn from what you have done wrong.

5.) Think Locally, Write Globally

One of the changes Springsteen made with Born to Run was that the characters in his songs were “less eccentric and less local” than those on his previous albums. The Born to Run people “could have been anyone and everyone,” he says. “When the screen door slams shut on ‘Thunder Road,’ you’re not necessarily on the Jersey shore anymore. You could be anywhere in America.” And it’s true. Millions of people went online and bought Born to Run. I looked for the same kind of connection for my novel. Although the All I Need to Get By family is African American, I have had readers of all races tell me how they have seen themselves in one or more of the characters and how they relate strongly to the family issues in the book. Touching people in this way is key to developing an attentive audience. How can you open your work to a wider audience while remaining true to your story?

If you are still in doubt, consider this Ralph Waldo Emerson quote: “Whichever course you decide on, there will always be someone who will tell you that you are wrong. Difficulties always arise that tempt you to believe that your critics are right. course of action and following it to an end requires … courage. ” Be brave for yourself and for your writing. Your own Born to Run may be waiting for you to come out.

© 2005 Sophfronia Scott

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