"Four Tips for Mixing Music into Your Fiction" 🎶🎹

Super excited that my craft article was published in Women on Writing’s newsletter today. Read on to learn some tips for integrating music into your prose as well as a prompt to give a whirl. 😊🎼

“Four Tips for Mixing Music into Your Fiction”

By: Melanie Faith

Music plays in so many milestone moments in our lives: from proms and graduations to weddings, anniversaries or divorces, first dates or last dates, funerals, reunions, and many other ceremonies. Music (or variations of it) may even be playing in an elevator near you on the way to the job interview you’re hoping to ace or to a doctor’s appointment you don’t want.

We don’t need to wait until milestone moments to savor sound, however, as songs suffuse everyday life as well. I listen to music numerous times a day, from a streaming speaker, from my laptop, on the radio in the car or in the kitchen, on TV or episodes of shows online, even on records, tapes, or CDs in my players now and again.  The importance of music doesn’t end with youth, but keeps giving back throughout our lives.

Music is often an important facet in fiction, too. Let’s delve into some wonderful ways that we writers can weave music into our plots, characters, and more!

Layer references to the same or similar song(s) or artist(s) within the same work. The context can be different for each listener/character. Your protagonist might listen to Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” as a high-school student in 1991 when it was released and have one experience while your protagonist’s twenty-something daughter might listen to the same song in 2024 and have entirely different reflections as she remembers that her dad always played the song while making breakfast during her preschool years.  Music is reminiscent of the era it was made, but it’s also timeless. Music can connect one generation to another, or divide one generation or listener from another.

Braid musical and nonmusical events within the same story to shed light on both elements of the story. If your protagonist is a second-chair violinist in the community orchestra, you might include not only the conflicts involved with her determination to move up to first chair this year, but also another element of her private life (from her day job and coworkers to her relationship with her love or her friends or her frenemies) to develop her character both on the stage as she practices and performs as well as offstage in her personal life.  Another idea: even characters who aren’t musicians or singers frequently jam when at a party or alone in a room or a car when a favorite song comes on. What song will get your protagonist’s toes tapping (or busting out the lyrics into a pencil or hairbrush or karaoke microphone, as the case may be)?  

Consider a melodic medley. Shake it up with intention. Many listeners enjoy several genres of music. Musical allusions can denote mood and tone as well as conflict within the plot or within your protagonist or antagonist. References to particular album titles or songs may even be used to foreshadow events later in the tale or become titles for chapters. 

Use poetic and precise language. Just as songs have rhythm and lyricism, you can pay particular attention to diction choices to develop music descriptions.  Onomatopoeia/sound effects might mimic the high-pitched tweet-tweet of a piccolo or flute, the mournful twang of a mandolin or guitar string, or the zingy ping of a hi-hat cymbal.  Consider using words with softer sounds, such as sibilant /s/ and quiet /m/ and /n/, for descriptions of acoustic performances and words with stronger, louder sounds, like the staccato and punchy /t/, /d/, /b/, /k/, and /z/ for summer rock concerts or heavy metal.

Whether your protagonist is a musician, a fan of a particular singer or band, or not, you can use these tips to integrate music—whether center stage, backstage, or as background—into scenes and character development to deepen your writing. You can even weave more than one of the tips within the same scene or chapter. Rock on!

Try this exercise:

Take a scene you’ve written recently with your protagonist during a time of strong emotion, such as doubt or great joy. Jot a list of three or four songs that mirror the emotional intensity the character is experiencing. Pick one to drop into the scene in a sentence or two to make it the soundtrack of the scene. What resonance does this reference add to the character, setting, or plot? Add extra dialogue or narration around this reference if the muse so moves you.   

 Want to learn more? I’d love to have you in my February class. Clickety-click to learn more and sign up! 🎸

New Month, Continued Inspiration 🎆

Happy February!

I’m excited for all that this new month will bring, including my Leaping Worlds online creative writing class for historical-fiction and time-travel writers.

Begins Friday, February 10th. There are still a few spaces left, and I’d love to work with you and a friend. Details at: clickety-click.

Also, here’s a favorite and motivating Hafiz quote to enjoy.

To February, and sweet inspiration!

Happy November & NaNoWriMo & News

Happy November! Cheering on all of my fellow writers embarking on the adventure of NaNoWriMo this month.

While I won’t be taking part this year, I have a few exciting projects I’ve been working on since summer that are set to release this fall.

Stay tuned, and rooting for each of these novels that will be created this month. NaNo on!

Fall into Reading Book Giveaway

Happy Fall! There’s a crispness in the breeze today that matches with what the calendar says about a new season. Time for cozy sweaters and curling up with fabulous books!

Want to win some stellar books to keep your TBR pile stocked this fall? Or how about an Amazon gift card? Enter this free and awesome Fall into Reading contest at Women on Writing between now and October 6, 2022: clicky.

I’m so pleased to offer copies of my latest book, From Promising to Published, as part of the contest offerings. Read all about all of the excellent books on offer and enter the Rafflecopter form for a chance to win at WOW’s blog: The Muffin.

My Craft Article Published Today 🎉

Super excited that my article, “Hop on Your Horse and Gallop Back in Time: 4 Strengths of Historical and Time-Travel Stories,” was published today at Women on Writing.

Image courtesy of unsplash.com and Kayla Koss

Care to learn more and explore this fun subject as you create your own stories? Ta-da! My latest online class, Leaping Worlds, begins on Friday, September 30th and is is open for sign-ups now.

Read on for my article:
”Hop on Your Horse and Gallop Back In Time: 4 Strengths of Historical and Time-Travel Stories”

By: Melanie Faith

Creating characters whose lives take place in another time can be one of the most enlivening and meaningful writing experiences an author can have. Let’s take a look at four assets writing these stories can bring into the lives of writers and readers alike.

Historical fiction offers maximum flexibility in developing the protagonist. There is no one cookie-cutter image for who the protagonist of your story might be. There are historical fiction main characters of all ages, backgrounds, and nationalities. Protagonists can live in literally any place and time (or multiple places and times, should you choose a time-travel tale) that you can imagine and recreate. You even have the flexibility to braid the stories of multiple protagonists within this genre.

Historical fiction protagonists in all types of narratives must have a purpose for being in the story, and that purpose is to inspire change through their actions; to be changed by events, people, or the place(s) where they live; or (ideally) both. All you need to get started is a setting, a time, and a protagonist with a big obstacle to push up against that’ll impact them and the wider world for days, years, or perhaps even decades to come! 

This genre also offers great flexibility of era. Have you always had a passion for the Roaring ‘20s or an interest in ancient Rome? What about a predilection for the early days of TV? Or even (gulp!) the early days of the internet? All include history well worth exploring. Whether a story is set two thousand years ago or twenty-five years ago, the past is at the core and the story is literally limited only by any era or eras that suit your fancy. A great deal of the fun in preparing to write, drafting, and editing within this genre is researching music, clothes, expressions and idioms, and more from the epoch you’ve chosen.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay at Pexels.com

Historical fiction is not a one-trick pony when it comes to styles and formats. Variety, thy name is this genre! Whether you want to pen a magnum opus novel or a flash fiction of a mere 45 words, there’s a style and a format to fit every writer and every project. Great historical fiction time-travel stories, for instance, can be told within a chapbook of stories connected by character or by place or by era, in a novella of a few thousand words (I had a fun time a few years ago writing a Regency novella, Her Humble Admirer, which in the tradition of many historical romance writers, I pen named), or equally well in linked historical-fiction poems (I wrote a collection of thematic poems set in 1918 a few years ago called This Passing Fever ). Historical fiction and time-travel stories also lend themselves well to creating a series. Want to write books about three cousins during the American Revolutionary War: one a Loyalist, one a Patriot, and one a pacifist? A series is born; go for it. Historical fiction allows for great versatility in how stories can be connected, divided, and crafted for maximum reader (and writer) interest.  

At its best, historical fiction sheds a light not only on another time but also on our modern lives. These stories can make us reflect on how far our lives have come and on how far we might go. They can remind us of our own struggles and hopes and setbacks, and they have the power to entertain us as well. That’s a lot of reading happiness in one literary package!  

Try this prompt: Pick a place, a time, and a protagonist. Your protagonist can be a real historical person or a completely fictional person. You don’t need to know everything—or even a lot—about your main character at this point: a name and an initial detail or two will do, even if you end up changing these details later. What does the protagonist, place, or era need the most that it doesn’t have yet? Who or what is blocking positive change? What most excites you to write about this era? Write for twenty minutes. Go!

It's Book Birthday Time! 🤩

Welcome to the world, From Promising to Published! Super excited for this book birthday, so I’m burning the midnight oil to ring in publication day. 🎇📔

Get your copy at Vine Leaves Press, Amazon, or my Etsy shop for signed copies.

Fabulous cover by Jessica Bell at Jessica Bell Design.

NaNoWriMo Day 8: Reflections So Far 📝

Just popping by for a quick update about my first week of National Novel Writing Month. Here’s the scoop and the skinny on my progress. On this sunny November day, I feel like a bulleted list, so I think I shall. [Razzle-dazzle formatting, 🧚‍♀️done! ] Proceed:

• I’m working on draft 2 of a novel about two sculptors that I finished a first draft of in September and purposely didn’t look at again since. I like to let first drafts marinate a few weeks while I work on other projects, so that when it’s time to edit I see what’s really there and not what I think is there. #writerproblems #tookabreaknomistake

• Instead of writing new content this time, I edit a little each day. No certain word count each day. Unlike a traditional NaNoWriMo and yet in the spirit of NaNoWriMo’s creative marathon, I’m going rogue and savoring the process as it evolves each day. #keepingitcopacetic

• I’m not writing at a particular time of morning, afternoon, or night. Each day has been different, but each day I’ve been both pleased with some dialogue and character insights as well as (on some other pages) frustrated by clunky first-draft stuff I’d forgotten about in my draft. #plotholesIgotem #charactersmademelaughandcrythough

• One day last week, I edited three chapters around 11 pm-1 am. That was my longest writing day. Later that week, I had a four-sentence editing day one afternoon for about twenty minutes, aka: my shortest day. Most days, I averaged 2 or 3 pages in 45 minutes or so of the early evening. It’s ALL good and motivates me through the second draft, bit by bit.

• Yesterday, I edited around 8 pages in a chapter where my protagonist finally has her own studio. #virginiawoolfvibes #aroomofherown For the first time in a week, I found myself adding two or three pages to a scene, rather than focusing on trimming. Both are needed and will happen in drafts 3, 4, etc., but it was refreshing to tie a bow on the first week by being so back into the characters’ POVs that new ideas were percolating again. #writergoals 🌻

Supporting my fellow intrepid and awesome NaNoWriMo 2021 authors! How’s it going? What projects are you working on? I want the tea. Merci beaucoup, and write on! ☕📝

Photo Courtesy of Daniele Levis Pelusi on Unsplash.com .

Insight into Developmental Editing, Part Two 📝☕

As an editor, it’s incredibly fulfilling to work with fellow writers as they sculpt their awesome novels and prepare for publication.

This year, I’ve had the complete joy to work with Ian Rogers of But I Also Have a Day Job and TRAM on his debut novel that drops in April 2022 (Vine Leaves Press). MFA Thesis Novel will leave you entertained, laughing, and thinking deeply about your own life’s path long after you’ve savored the final page.

Photo Courtesy of Vincentiu Solomon on Unsplash.com

Wonder what it’s like to work with a developmental editor? Ponder no longer! Ian does a stellar job exploring what developmental editing entails, what it’s like to communicate about your vision for your book with a developmental editor, and how authors and editors can bond over shared goals on behalf of making fabulous books.

Here’s the second (and latest) post about Ian’s developmental editing experience: ta-da! Be sure to check out his first post about developmental editing from June .

Also, make sure to check back on Ian’s site for wonderful reflections and interviews with working writers and at Vine Leaves Press to reserve and order your copy of MFA Thesis Novel in early 2022 as well as to peruse and purchase the many amazing Vine Leaves selections available.

Here’s to writers making it happen and bringing meaningful literature into the world! 📚🌟

NaNoWriMo 2021

I'm looking forward to NaNoWriMo in just a few weeks. I'll be writing each day of November, although probably in different genres and different projects and likely less than 1500 words a day (shaking up the rules a wee bit is part of the fun, right? 😁). Still, participate by writing each day I shall. 🙌🖊📄

Cheering on my fellow writer peeps who are either definitely going to participate or who are thinking about it. If you want, drop a line below about the project you want to write/work on.

"15+ Creative Methods for Outlining Your Novel"

Thrilled that my article was published today at WOW! Here are some awesome ways to do creative prewriting for your novel that could be great fun to explore.

15+ Creative Methods for Outlining Your Novel

By: Melanie Faith

As a writer, my longer fiction and nonfiction projects have been aided by prewriting. Outlining has numerous benefits that range from organizing initial ideas (which tend to lead to further ideas, like rabbits from a hat) so that they are not a jumble floating (and too-soon forgotten) in the brain to saving time because the story has a natural narrative arc rather than disconnected passages or entire chapters that veer off plot or point.

Just as writing your novel is a creative process, your outlining can be a creative and whimsical process. Feel free to dabble with a few outlining methods and to mix-and-match your prewriting styles.  

What could outlining your novel look like? Great news! There are oodles of formats for outlining. Outlines don’t have to be in the strict Roman-numeral format (unless you want them to be). An outline might be crafted in any of the following styles:

·        a hand-drawn map of your story’s setting(s).

·        a Pinterest or Facebook page or vision board you create of photographs and posts related to your protagonist or any other element of your narrative.

·        a collage (physical or digital) of images or dialogue.

·        a series of sketches or drawings for the first chapter. The sketches might be free-form, in storyboard form, or comics form, either hand-drawn or drawn using digital sketchpads/software.

·        an audio or video clip—or several—that mirror the rising action(s) or tone of various scenes.

·        a web of catch-phrases, dialogue, or verbal imagery related to your antagonist.

·        a chart with webpage links related to your conflicts and rising actions.

·        a color-coded chart of characters’ backstories.

·        a list in a bullet journal.

·        a free-write passage of dialogue between the protagonist and antagonist.

·        photos that represent the protagonist’s inner thoughts or conflicts.

Outlining is flexible and can include as much or as few details as you’d like, and you can add to the outline as new or different ideas occur.  It’s all a step in the right direction: seeing the big picture of your project.

More great news: you don’t have to plan every single element of a book before writing a single paragraph of the draft, although you could if you want to. Some of the best projects I’ve written (or read) began with enough planning for just a chapter or two at a time, if that. Sometimes, just a few short, scrawled sentence fragments about a character.

You can also outline after you’ve started some of your project, whether you’ve run into a snag or just want to plan for the next steps in your project.

A few more outlining ideas:

·        You could color code or date material on an outline to keep track of when and how your outline evolves.

·        You could outline on computer but also by hand (break out the highlighters, colored pens or pencils and markers, your favorite notebook, pieces of printer paper and stickers—whatever motivates you most).

·        Sometimes, my students have purchased dry-erase boards and erasable markers and put them around their office for ease of planning and adjusting initial ideas.

·        Other students have used giant sheets of brown-bag paper or butcher paper and permanent markers to chart their next narrative course.    

Outlines should be specific enough to encourage a pull towards your manuscript but open-ended and with enough wiggle room that it can be expanded, adjusted, or edited at any part of the prewriting or first-drafting process. It’s perfectly fine to have all or part of an initial outline and then veer away from the outline in your writing. Or to adjust your outline as you go.

Just because it’s written on the outline, don’t force yourself to adhere to your plans if it’s slow-going or if a better idea shows up. The latter happens to me all of the time, especially mid-novel; I just re-plan my next plans when it happens and see where the new ideas take me. In all of my first outlines for my current WIP, my protagonist was on his way cross-country to attend a writer’s colony—until I got a few chapters in as I drafted and it hit me that a storm would prevent his arrival. Take two: a little regrouping, a free-write, and a new list of phrases in my writer’s notebook, and away I went in the direction of the new plot. 

Nothing is set in stone, during or even after planning—and that should be encouraging.

Aim for making enough ground work to invigorate and flesh out your initial characterizations, settings, and plot, while remaining open to restructuring as you begin the writing process and as characters reveal more of their struggles and obstacles in the paths to reaching their goals.

View your prewriting as an exciting, ever-evolving map to where your novel likely might be headed, and enjoy the creativity of the prewriting and drafting processes as the pages of your story accumulate and ideas keep arriving.

Learn more via my online class, Outlining Your Novel with Ease, now taking sign-ups. Check out my fall/early winter online writing classes here.