Friday, July 6, 2007

Songs for Your Stories

I’ll be out of the office on Friday, so I’m writing my blog post a couple days early, sitting in Panera Bread, sipping the decaf of the day and nibbling on an orange scone. Mixed with the typical café sounds, beautiful piano strains are filling my ears with pleasant background noise. A medley from Phantom of the Opera just finished, and as I enjoyed the music, memories of the story and seeing the production on Broadway played through my mind. Makes me want to hop a plane and head for NYC to see the show again or at least watch the movie version for the umpteenth time.

Of course I love books, but obviously a movie or production can tell a tale in a totally different way. Adding music to a story can set just the right mood and create just the right emotion. Writers of books have a challenge to create the right mood and emotion using only words on the page--no sorrowful violin solos for heart wrenching scenes or ominous bangs on the piano to set up suspense.

But just for fun, pretend you could create soundtracks for your stories. Don’t you love hearing music or a song that you instantly associate with a favorite movie? Tell us what theme song you’d want readers to associate with one of your titles.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

In my novel, I used the song, Unforgettable, to set the mood. When the hero tunes in an oldie station, and the song by Nat King Cole comes across the airwaves,the heroine begins to realize that what she'd felt for the hero was just that...unforgettable.

Anonymous said...

Ha! I should have said, my novel, Unforgettable. JanetB

Mary Connealy said...

The book Calico Canyon, that I've just finished editing, had as a musical them Great is Thy Faithfulness. I even named it that at first. I wanted to explore the idea that we think so much about how we need to do better at faithfulness to God, but we need to remember that, no matter what, God is always, ALWAYS faithful to us.
When my heroine remembers that Bible verse--now the foundation of that great hymn--she also remembers the long lost courage of her youth and becomes the bravest little Christian imaginable.
And boy does she need to be brave with a new husband she never asked for and his five unruly sons that live to torment her.

Jennifer Johnson said...

The story I'm writing currently is about a gal trying to figure out who she is as a new disciple of Christ and as a woman; however, she's a bit on the ditzy...no, I will say spontaneous side. :) Maybe her theme song is "I'm a Little Teapot" or "The Hokey Pokey." In truth, she's looking for "It is Well with my Soul," but she's still living "How Great is Our God." I'm getting ready to write another chapter. I'll be thinking of the mood/song theme. :)

LMB said...

First I love Panera!!! And B, thanks for taking time to write to us....i know I need all the ehlp I can get!

Cara Putman said...

I bought a CD called SOngs that Got Us Through the War on Amazon. It's filled with great songs like Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, It's been a Long, Long Time, and I'll be Seeing You. I fire up iTunes, and listen to favorites from that, and I'm instantly transported to 1943. Hmm, I may just have to treat myself to another CD for Captive Dreams.

Unknown said...

I'm such a music lover (and have a strong history in theater), so this subject interests me a great deal. As I wrote RED LIKE CRIMSON and WHITE AS SNOW, I had a song running through my head most of the time. It was a worship song I'd learned as a teen called "Come, Let Us Reason," based on the scripture used in the book. ("Come let us reason together; that's what God says. Come, let us reason together says the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." What a perfect companion to these stories!