The Art of 'The Pause'
Getting down to what really makes people invested in your work
I didn’t think I’d have an epiphany after watching an Instagram video.
But lo and behold, the 21st century has proved me wrong.
It would be a beautiful world if we all weren’t with our faces buried in a way out of it 90% of the day, but the times are a’changin.
I get caught up in it, too. I’m only human. My brother will send me a funny clip from South Park and I’ll catch myself 5 minutes later, thinking - what in God’s name have I just watched in the last 5 minutes?
But the other day, I watched a Reel and was bowled over in confusion.
Why? Because it gave me the beautiful ‘Pause’.
A Reel giving me the Pause… of all things…
What is the ‘Pause’ you might wonder? Good question.
No, it’s not stopping that episode of Game of Thrones before the big battle scene so you can grab more snacks.
When I come across a truly great piece of writing or music or art or poetry, I feel the Pause.
I have to put my book down or halt the music or take a step back from an art piece.
It’s that feeling when it appears like time has stopped. Like the words you’ve just read or heard dance in front of your eyes; like they burrow deep into your brain and rearrange the furniture. They’re residents now.
But it’s in these moments of Pause that we feel connected to the world.
Whatever it is that the writer or poet or painter has communicated, it makes us feel part of the grander scheme. We aren’t alone. What we feel is felt by others. The person on the other end of the Pause has managed to tap into a collective spirit and embody it with words or brushstrokes or notes.
And God, can it be random.
With a Pause, you get these explosive emotions. Joy, nostalgia, frustration, understanding, peace. It’s like you reach into a colourless bag of M&M’s. You’ll still get the flavour, you just don’t know which one it’ll be.
So, what gave me a Pause?
It was a Reel from an incredible musican called Cameron Whitcomb.
Cameron shared a snippet of a song he’s writing (I couldn’t find the title), but the lyrics made me Pause.
I felt blown back as it was as if I was speaking the words he was singing.
He nailed on the head thoughts and emotions that have swirled around in me for a long time.
Not only that, but he did it with incredible imagery and rhetoric.
Let me break down the lyrics for you to show you what I mean:
Verse 1
Could I believe in a man I don’t see?
Wish I could hear if he’s talking to me
If I could meet him, the big man upstairs
I’d ask him if Grandpa still rocks in his chair
Cameron is talking about a big ‘What if…’ - the question of the Big Man Upstairs.
He’s an atheist, but he has quarrels with what lies beyond this world.
The first verse is a beautiful summation of this.
Notice that last line…
Cameron could have just sung something saying “If I could meet him, I’d ask him if my relatives are in heaven.”
But this way of writing doesn’t tap into that fundamental connection we all share.
When those of us who aren’t sure ask this question, we don’t just think about it generally. We think of our loved ones specifically. We think of Grandma and Grandpa, our Mums and Dads and brothers and sisters who passed too soon.
This leads us to Lesson 1 of The Pause:
Get specific on the details.
Don’t talk about large grandiose concepts. Humans don’t process these too well. We love to process narrative based specifics.
It’s the reason why Show, Don’t Tell is thrown from California to Beijing as writing advice.
Verse 2
I’ve met hellraising angels, devils and saints
Addicts on sidewalks who give more than take
Poison filled pastors who lie their teeth
But scold me for asking why I should believe
In the second verse, Cameron brings us into an introduction of the kind of people he’s come across in his life.
Not only this, he’s doing it by utilising the 2nd lesson of The Pause:
Use contrast.
We all make assumptions and stereotypes based on what we observe and what we’re told.
But more often than not…
We can find exceptions to these rules if we look hard enough.
Cameron highlights this beautifully by contrasting a generous addict and a sin-filled pastor.
Contrast is incredible for initiating The Pause because it forces the brain to move away from its default mode of thinking.
We need rhythm in life. You need to wake up at roughly the same time every day and have a schedule and a consistent group of friends and hobbies, otherwise we simply go insane.
But because of this, our brains become very good at recognising patterns.
We’ve in fact evolved to seek pattern in the chaos.
However, it takes a little drop of the different to make us Pause.
Verse 3
They say in the good book he looks just like me
Is he tattooed and tired and can’t find his peace?
Does he drown his sorrows with whiskey, cocaine?
4am panic and praying for change
The final verse in the short video is Cameron describing himself.
But he’s not doing it from a self-inflating perspective.
He’s grounded himself.
And this is the final principle of The Pause:
Leave yourself in the art.
Sometimes, you’ll find an artist who behaves like a snake oil salesman. They’ll try and con you into the message they’re putting across being from a place of authenticity.
But most people have an incredibly good ability to smell bullshit a mile away.
When you leave yourself in the art, with your burdens and troubles and mistakes and flaws - you allow people into your world.
There’s no magic pristine gloss that can cover up the cracks we all possess.
So don’t bother.
Instead, own them.
Cameron does this by talking about his whiskey, cocaine and insomnia.
Take another example…
Adele has seen incredible success because of her vocal talents. But that isn’t what makes people obsessed with her music. There’s a plethora of talented singers out there.
It’s because she talks about her struggles in life and her relationships so openly, it makes people Pause.
When she sings “Go easy on me baby, I was still a child”, she is tapping into the collective well of how we all know of the mistakes we made when we were younger. She owns it, and lets us know we’re not alone in making such mistakes.
When I coined the term ‘The Pause’, it made so much sense to me with everything that inspires me in life.
The more you practice on making people Pause, the more you will notice people attracted to you and your work.
Be it your writing, painting, music…
What we are all craving in this chaotic online world is a semblence of order.
While some will find hollow success by flaunting what they believe people want to see, it is by giving your audience a Pause that you’ll build authentic connections that last a lifetime.
So, next time you Pause, ask yourself what you’re connecting with.
See if you can incorporate what you notice into your own work.
You might just create the door that someone needs to step through.
Until we ride again, gang.
WM