I haven’t written anything here in a while. The good news is that I’ve been writing and submitting fiction as much as my schedule allows, racking up the rejections and all. Anyway, I had a thought the other day that I wanted to share.
George Lucas once said something to the effect that a soundtrack is a large portion of a movie. Now, I remember him saying this, I think it was during an Academy Award ceremony back in about 1993 but that’s over 20 years ago. I tried looking it up and the quotes I come up with say 50% so let’s go with that.
I started thinking, how do we create a sound track with a piece of writing? I don’t mean literally. I suppose I could mention pieces of music, put quotes from lyrics at the beginning of every chapter, etc., but I don’t think that’s the answer.
I find that I enjoy fiction written by people who are either poets or also write poetry a great deal, it’s somehow richer. So, my suggestion is that we create soundtracks for our fiction by our word choice, by the rhythm and flow we create in the sentences we write. Then there’s all the wonderful tools of the poet – alliteration, metaphor, simile, hyperbole and anything else you care to include.
I’ve been thinking of creating a short story that simulates the improvisation of jazz. Soon, maybe in April during Camp NaNoWriMo. There are a couple projects to finish up first.
Just a thought.
Melora Johnson's Muse 