Most writers and writing instructors agree that we should learn from the masters. Study the greats of our genre, and throw in some Chaucer, Shakespeare, Kipling, and Twain for good measure.

But what about Michaelangelo?  Mozart?  Da Vinci?  Not only can the masters of other, non-writing fields prove a fabulous source of inspiration, as Dan Brown found, but they can teach valuable writing tools.

Listen to Beethoven’s fifth symphony, and notice the hook beginning.  Listen to how he builds the tension and weaves the dramatic elements.  The play of light, smooth sound against discord.  There are a lot of lessons there on plotting and building and creating tension in a novel.

Now listen to Mozart, and Chopin.  Notice the simplicity and clean sound of Mozart, so unaffected.  The precision of Chopin.  The style of masters across the fields of music, art, and writing is winnowed and honed.  They don’t clutter up their work unnecessarily.

I submit that in our study of the masters we should keep reading the greats of literarture, but also study masters of other fields and notice how they make their work effective.  Who knows, we may find some Dan Brown-type inspiration there as well.

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