by Mark Ury
Blogging always seems to include sharing some sad truth about yourself, whether it’s your obsession with trash TV or one too many trips to the freezer for more mint chocolate chip ice cream (P.S. these are examples and any resemblance to my life is coincidental). So here’s my share: I can’t draw.
Admitting you can’t draw isn’t much of anything, really. Over 90% of the world can’t draw. But context is everything. Admitting I can’t draw to my bowling friends isn’t worth a second glance (P.S. I don’t bowl), whereas sharing it with picture book writers and illustrators is like asking your bowling friends to switch to five-pin balls since your wrist is to weak to use the grown-up sizes (P.S. this has never happened). It’s kinda sad and wimpy.
Now, don’t feel embarrassed for me (P.S. you are not my mother). I have at my disposal an entire platform to compensate for my lack of artistic skills. With it, I can inspire myself to great heights and pen imaginative stories that kids everywhere read and love. But, sleazily cross-promoting my venture is not what this post is about (P.S. unless you find my venture intriguing and possibly useful, in which case we should have coffee and be friends). No. This blog post is NOT about (shameful) marketing or even (sad) admissions of inferior uses of pencils. It’s about music. Or, more specifically, it’s about how music helps me get the feeling of a story long before (and sometimes after) I’ve seen the images or typed the words.
It’s quite possible you are already familiar with how music can shape your work. If so, perhaps you might be better off reading Sarah Dillard’s post—it has cute bunnies. But if you’re like me (P.S. heaven help you), you may only be modestly aware of how music can be used to give your story the tone or pitch your characters are longing for (and, eventually, if you score that deal with HarperCollins, your readers).
For the longest time, I *thought* what was inspiring the tone of my writing were the images I would paper on my walls, stash in my notebook, or hide under my pillow (P.S. the images under my pillow were not at all being hidden from my mother). Weathered photos of Sid Vicious and Marianne Faithful propelled my early poetry. An image of Kate Spade holding one of her early designs became the central figure in one of my (wretched and unfinished) screenplays, and a stark image of Vanessa Redgrave has been taunting me to start my graphic novel (P.S. yes, you read correctly that I can’t draw).
But, upon reflection (.PS. while searching for a theme for this blog post), only recently did I notice that while images were influencing *what* I was writing about, the actual tone came from the music around me.
This story, about memory and love, was shaped by This is the Kit’s Two Wooden Spoons—an earthy and lush little song that I couldn’t get off of replay on my iPod. And my story about a gruesomely self-centered girl rose from the the chill of Radiohead’s There There (P.S. This is ironic since Thom Yorke wrote the song as a kind of bedtime story for his son. P.P.S. I am glad I am not Thom Yorke’s son).
Music has shaped my copywriting and creative direction, too. Commercials, ads—even the design of products and services—have musical DNA from bouncy ABBA tunes, 80s Brit-pop, and recently, the alt-country acoustics of Kathleen Edwards. And why not? Music is this perfect mix of math and emotion, logic and passion. It’s the ideal stimulant for a tired mind and great whip to a lazy idea (P.S. my ideas need constant flogging). Mostly, it’s a great friend to writers, who need to balance structure and character with some sort of texture or flavor that they can’t quite articulate.
So here’s my suggestion: include music in your work. Better yet—let it muscle itself between your sketches and copy. Replay favorites and dig up old tunes. Drift through lyrics and free associate. Use sound to create new stories (don’t you WANT the East-End boys and West-End girls to meet?), vivid places (just what does the town in Simon & Garfunkel’s My Little Town look like?), and beguiling characters (surely Tom from Suzanne Vega’s Tom’s Diner is worth examining?). Most of all, let music do what it’s meant to do: alter your rhythm. Great stories don’t come from staid patterns.
As for me, I’m wrapping this post feeling less insecure about my poor pencilmanship. (This is quite possibly because I’m listening to The Wild Strawberries and thinking of pie rather than having stared down my limitations (P.S. It is.).) Either way, music saved the day, again.
Mark Ury is the cofounder of Storybird, an occasional writer, and almost always nibbling chocolate.
20 comments
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November 17, 2010 at 4:34 am
M. G. King
Even the old folks never knew
Why they call it like they do
I was wondering since the age of two
Down on copperline — J. T.
Bingo! I’ll be mining music for the next thirteen days.
(P.S. Thanks for the inspiration.)
November 17, 2010 at 9:13 am
Bonnie Adamson
Ah, JT–he and Gordon Lightfoot and Christine Lavin are my favorite storytellers.
November 17, 2010 at 8:00 am
Tabatha
Loved this post. I’ll be thinking about this idea. Kelis’ Acapella has story potential. Monty Python’s Galaxy Song could be a springboard, or All For You from Seussical. The video for Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson’s Winter Song looks like a picture book already.
November 17, 2010 at 9:03 am
Megan K. Bickel
Right on, Mark!
P.S. Love Storybird! It is uber fun!
November 17, 2010 at 9:25 am
Bonnie Adamson
Thanks for the inspiration and the nudge, Mark–it is entirely too easy to fall into the same old rhythms!
November 17, 2010 at 9:45 am
ccgevry
This is a funny and inspiring post. Thanks for sharing. I can’t have music when I write, but before and after usually works.
Cheryl
November 17, 2010 at 11:04 am
Heather Kephart
I really enjoyed your post, Mark. I have used the rhythms and moods inspired by music in poetry (not GOOD poetry, mind you) but never thought about music as it relates to writing for children. That is, outside of capturing rhythms. But you can bet I will be thinking about it now! Good luck with your venture. Pretty cool. 🙂
November 17, 2010 at 11:39 am
Melissa Liban
Great post and fun website you have. I admit the weirdest things on my blog! You’ve insipred me to go listen to music and write. I do that often, but I like a lot of depressing music, so I come up with some intersting ideas. I think I would really enjoy listenting to your poem inspired by Sid Vicious, prolly would be very interesting and yes, I do want the east end boys and west end girls to meet:)
Fun Post!
November 17, 2010 at 11:39 am
Catherine Denton
Brilliant Mark! I love music. Your post encouraged me to use it. I often listen to soundtracks to write but I may add other music as well. Thanks for the tip!
Catherine Denton
November 17, 2010 at 11:44 am
Beth MacKinney
Enjoyed your fun post, although I disagree about your ability to draw.
[I will say, however, that as long as you think you cannot, you will not be able to. I’m also making a distinction between drawing and illustrating, since illustrating is another thing altogether! : )]
November 17, 2010 at 11:54 am
Corey Schwartz
Ha, ha. Hilarious post! And, yes, I’d love to be friends with you!
November 17, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Stephanie Shaw
Mark, thank you for today’s excellent post (P.S. I’m not your mother). You are so right about the influence of music on writers (unless it’s Neil Diamond singing “songs she sang to me/songs she brang to me” — which in some perverse way may inspire us to write better). And what can I say about Storybirds? It is a beautiful world of inspiration (P.S. I wasn’t paid to say this, but if you insist…).
November 17, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Mark Ury
Guys—thanks for the feedback and kind words.
@stephanie: lol’d about that Neil Diamond comment. There’s probably a separate blog post about how oddly written music (read: metal bands with big hair and oddly-tight spandex outfits) can inspire you to be a better editor.
@corey: you’ll find me at Tcho chocolate or Vosges. I’m the guy hyperventilating over the choices.
@beth: VERY true. I can, actually, draw. I can’t, most certainly, illustrate. “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” FTW!
@heather: the more incongruent the music is to typical kid’s books, the more interesting the path to follow.
@bonnie: smooch. Nice to see you!
November 17, 2010 at 4:49 pm
Lynne Marie
It looks to me like you can draw. Maybe I can’t see LOL Thanks for the great post!
November 17, 2010 at 8:19 pm
Catherine Johnson
I thought you could see through cyberspace for a minute talking about trips to the freezer for mint-choc ice-cream 🙂 I totally love Simon & Garfunkel. I must have some of their music in the house I could put on to drown out Diego and The Mickey mouse Clubhouse theme tune. I love using pictures to be creative, but music definitely gives you a mood to work with too. Great post!
November 18, 2010 at 1:46 am
Marcy Pusey
Okay, SOOOOO FUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are hilarious! LOVED IT! This might even be among my favorite posts (if not my actual favorite- which Im not saying it is… but im not saying it isn’t) of all times 🙂 And I love music. 🙂 You’re great!
November 18, 2010 at 3:05 pm
Diana Murray
Mark, you’ve seriously tickled my funny bone! (P.S. a “funny bone” isn’t really a bone. That’s just an expression.) 😀
Thanks for reminding me to listen and be moved by the music. Great advice!
Perhaps I should break my relaxing, classical music habit and go back to my heavy metal roots just to see what happens. Hmmm. This may require some hairspray and black eyeliner.
November 19, 2010 at 1:38 pm
Angela De Groot
Mark, thanks for the excellent pointers and the giggles. I am laughing with you, not at you. This is my favorite post yet. I’m keen to give your methods a try. I’ll have to remember not to sing along – you can’t draw and I can’t sing.
November 22, 2010 at 2:35 am
Ishta Mercurio
Mark, thank you for your most entertaining post. Storybirds is lovely – it’s such a wonderful way for writers to share their work. I appreciate the link to it.
I listen to music almost all day and snippets of songs have inspired elements of my novel WiP, but I’ve never thought to try to get a picture book out of a piece of music. I’ll have to listen with a more open mind next time!
And you’re in good company – I can’t draw, either. I never thought to get embarrassed about it, though maybe I should have.
November 24, 2010 at 11:36 am
Lori
Mark, great post and even greater website – I LOVE storybird and am going to sign up right now! Thanks for sharing!