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Writing, and Songs in the Head
Jun. 27th, 2006 10:56 pm
Not that I want to make light of a problem a friend reported, but.. well..
OK, it's not a serious problem, it's not anything crazy, I think, but I do have this little problem with songs in my head when I'm riding my motorcycle.
This is why I will sometimes be screaming out a song as I ride along in the dark- anything to change the soundtrack. But sometimes that is not possible. And there will always be a song in there. Something about the roar of the engine and the wind, it's just unstoppable. I can only hope that it is a GOOD song.
The other day I went to a meeting downstate, and rode the motorcycle to get there. It was about 100 miles away. Fortunately, the Song in the Head for this ride was Radar Love. But I was pretty tired of it by the time I got to the end of my ride.
The meeting was OK, as meetings go. "None of us is as dumb as all of us," as they say, but in the two hours I think perhaps one or two useful bits of info got exchanged. That's pretty good, since the usual tally in the typical meeting is zero.
Then after that there was the confusion about lunch. Since I used to live in this town, I directed everyone to a good fast food place-- that doesn't exist any more. We lost track of each other.
I stopped for a coney dog, enjoyed it, and got back on the bike. Started the engine and headed home.
"I been drivin' all night, my hands wet on the wheel..."
Oh, crap.
#
I've done the draft of Hilltown Chapter 13, finally. Hope to have it up here in a few days.
This time the silly thing took all sorts of twists. There was much rewriting before Maggie finally told me what she did, so I could get it down.
At the con I attended recently, I listened to a talk from a writer who says "When one of my characters tries to do something that isn't in the story outline, I kill them. I have no time for that."
Well, more power to her, I guess. She has written a fair number of Star Trek books and other works that have to fit a preset pattern, so I guess I can understand her method. But I can't do it. When my characters start insisting on doing something I didn't want them to, it means only one thing. They're feeding me something great, some story I couldn't imagine on my own.
Always listen to your characters. If they're real enough to you, they will speak.
OK, it's not a serious problem, it's not anything crazy, I think, but I do have this little problem with songs in my head when I'm riding my motorcycle.
This is why I will sometimes be screaming out a song as I ride along in the dark- anything to change the soundtrack. But sometimes that is not possible. And there will always be a song in there. Something about the roar of the engine and the wind, it's just unstoppable. I can only hope that it is a GOOD song.
The other day I went to a meeting downstate, and rode the motorcycle to get there. It was about 100 miles away. Fortunately, the Song in the Head for this ride was Radar Love. But I was pretty tired of it by the time I got to the end of my ride.
The meeting was OK, as meetings go. "None of us is as dumb as all of us," as they say, but in the two hours I think perhaps one or two useful bits of info got exchanged. That's pretty good, since the usual tally in the typical meeting is zero.
Then after that there was the confusion about lunch. Since I used to live in this town, I directed everyone to a good fast food place-- that doesn't exist any more. We lost track of each other.
I stopped for a coney dog, enjoyed it, and got back on the bike. Started the engine and headed home.
"I been drivin' all night, my hands wet on the wheel..."
Oh, crap.
#
I've done the draft of Hilltown Chapter 13, finally. Hope to have it up here in a few days.
This time the silly thing took all sorts of twists. There was much rewriting before Maggie finally told me what she did, so I could get it down.
At the con I attended recently, I listened to a talk from a writer who says "When one of my characters tries to do something that isn't in the story outline, I kill them. I have no time for that."
Well, more power to her, I guess. She has written a fair number of Star Trek books and other works that have to fit a preset pattern, so I guess I can understand her method. But I can't do it. When my characters start insisting on doing something I didn't want them to, it means only one thing. They're feeding me something great, some story I couldn't imagine on my own.
Always listen to your characters. If they're real enough to you, they will speak.
