3 Tips On Writing Songs in Stories

- Germaine -

So you want to write songs in stories, but have no idea where to start? Unfortunately for you, I have no idea how to write songs, too. But before you begin to despair, here are a few tips I've learned from reading a few books.

1. Songs DO NOT need to rhyme

I see this a lot. It's a little annoying when it's overused in the same book, especially when the author seems to run out of rhymes.

I'm not saying, "don't rhyme your songs at all." Some songs that rhyme are actually quite good.

I'm saying, "think about it." If the song you're writing fits well with your story, go for it. But if it seems out of place, you might want to consider rewriting it. The worst case scenario would be to delete it entirely and erase all traces of it from your story.

2. Write songs like you're writing poetry

Songs are poems, after all. So wouldn't it be fun to just throw out some deep, meaningful figurative language? Of course, it would have to somewhat relate to the song, or else it won't make sense. You could try writing a poem, then putting it to music. Try new things. Take risks. You can always edit later.

3. Keep your songs short

Once I wrote a four-page song into a story with my brother. It wasn't pretty. We could spend minutes just going over the entire song. Sometimes we skipped over it to save time.

My point is, keep your songs short.

My recommendation would be one page, maximum.

Enjoy yourself,

- Germaine

James 1:17

Read any good books with great songs in them? Comment below!

Comments

Strange One

An unsteady little fox kit blinked, opening her eyes she wobbled after her siblings. Taking her first steps outside the den, watching the others do the same. Their brown-black eyes gleamed in the light. Most of the other fox kits were playing, a tangled mess of dark brown fur and legs as they tumbled, chasing each other around mossy rocks and through short green grass. Some of the older foxes were lounging, gathered around a small circle of rocks. The fox kit stumbled over, her legs still not quite used to the rough ground. The circle smelled fresh, soaked in the scent of damp earth; something clear and silvery-blue filled the hole in the ground. She leaned towards it, trying to get a better look, paws scrambling for purchase on the smooth slippery stones. With no success, her paws slipped, sending her tumbling down into the pool of clear liquid. It was only water. But she didn't know that then. She landed with a splash, the liquid soaking her coat and making her shiver. S...

Spoiler-Free Book Review - The Squire's Tales (Gerald Morris)

Okay, so it's technically an entire series, but that's irrelevant. I am reviewing books and it is therefore a book review. The Squire's Tales , by Gerald Morris, is a series of novels that retell in hilarious fashion the lesser known tales of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Don't worry, you won't have to hear about the sword in the stone again or anything at all about Arthur's childhood. Because this is where the best part comes in: these stories are told from the perspectives of those that other renditions tend to gloss over, mock or forget entirely. These characters are a squire, (as the title would imply) a page, three women and a knight who is objectively terrible at being a knight. He sings and plays music instead. His name's Dinadan. He's wonderful. Over the ten books in the series, you get seven different characters from whose points of view the stories are told (plus a couple extra in the last book, but that's a spec...

How to Fix Bad Writing

A first draft of a novel is never perfect. A first draft of anything you've written is never perfect. We all know that. If you're a serious writer who's been looking through writing websites and generally spending your time reading about writing, well, you're like the rest of us. Someday, you are going to look back at what you have written, may it be to edit, to remind yourself of how much you've improved, or just to laugh at your writing. So here's my advice. If it makes you cringe, do something about it. I'm writing a fantasy novel about seven dragons with elemental powers who are trying to bring back flight to a world where dragons cannot fly. As my fingers flew across the keyboard, typing out the words, I came to a scene where one of my main characters has to ask a friend for help. In reply, the friend begins rambling on and on about why she can't help him, but at the end of the chapter, she agrees to help. When I looked back...

The Writing Mafia

Search This Blog