Thursday, July 31, 2008

Orchestrated Search #2: Simply Music

Songs don't just tell stories - they can BE stories. All you need is a playlist. If you have songs in your My Music folder, load them into your media player. If you have a portable MP3 player, set it to shuffle. If you can't have it shuffle, then you'll have to play it and see where it leads you.

Ready? Have a pen and piece of paper ready; or start up a new document on your word processor. You'll have to take note of each song that plays, assign it to the following designations, and yes, write a short story. You have your pick of characters' names and location names, and you can make it as long or as short as you want. Just make sure that you incorporate the themes of the songs that play (NOT the songs themselves, see, but what the songs mean to you. If the song tells a story, you can incorporate that story into your story; or if the song is about heartbreak, then you'll have a heartbreaking thing happening somewhere in your tale).

Now, press PLAY. Don't forward through the songs. Listen to each one and go through each one. No shortcuts!

1. The first song that plays describes your lead character.

2. The second song that plays describes your location.

3. The third song that plays describes the opening of your story.

4. The fourth song that plays talks about how the action builds up in your story (or, what happens that brings about the conflict).

5. The fifth song that plays talks about the conflict itself, the main point of your story, the grand adventure, or whatever the song describes.

6. The sixth song that plays talks about how the conflict is resolved.

7. The seventh song that plays talks about what keeps your lead character alive and kicking (or dying and decaying) through your story.

8. The eighth song that plays talks about the main weakness of your lead character that nearly knocks him or her off balance and sends him hurtling into depression/desperation/insanity/the Abyss.

9. The ninth song that plays talks about what fuels your lead character to do better and resolve the conflict. Note how this is different from the sixth song that plays. The sixth song describes the resolution itself, while the ninth song describes something less tangible that moves your character forward.

10. The tenth and last song that plays describes the final scene in your short story.

Don't forget to post your stories and/or links to them in the comments section. Happy writing!

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