POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

It Starts With a Song

By Nandy Ekle

The way to start a story is with a song.

I have never claimed to be a musician. But I love music. I love country, rock, country-rock, opera, show tunes, instrumental, folk, seventies, zydeco, techno . . .

And sometimes, something I hear sparks a story.

Ballads, of course, openly tell their stories, and it’s easy to take their poetry and turn it into prose. Love songs also give us stories. Usually it’s easy to catch the meaning, but there a few you have to dig out. I’ve even ‘seen’ a story play out during an instrumental.

I love to listen to a piece of music with my eyes closed. I can feel beats and the notes. The words come to life for me and begin to act out the tale.

Some music inspires me by its melody. I’ve noticed a calming piece of music allows my imagination to open up as much as a story song. And bold sounds, along with fast beats will create adventure, danger, and urgency.

So the goal to writing stories while listening to music is to serenade my reader. I want to sing them my song of seduction, pull them in close to me and waltz them through the scenes. I want them to feel the change of atmosphere as the tones and beats change. And by the end, I want them tired, but willing to come back for more.

And this is the pay off.

Congratulations. You have just received a post card from the muse.