Skip to main content

Write your chapters backward

Sting is one of my favorite singers and songwriters. He uses literary devices to tell visual, emotional, and thought-provoking stories. I've read a bit about how he opens himself up to the writing process and have found that some of what he espouses works for me.

He applies a blend of intuition, observation, and technical mastery to his writing that I believe can be applied to the art of storytelling.

  1. Embracing Intuition: Sting often begins by letting go of conscious control and allowing his subconscious to guide him. He describes this as "listening to the music and asking it to tell me a story." This intuitive approach taps into the writer's inner world, drawing on emotions, experiences, and memories that can form the foundation for powerful narratives. In first drafts especially, I find myself taping into a trance-like state that opens my mind to unplanned characters and ideas. The subconscious is a marvelous thing.
  2. Observation and Discovery: Sting is a keen observer of the world around him, drawing inspiration from everyday encounters, human interactions, and social dynamics. He believes songwriting is a form of "anthropology," where the writer captures the essence of the human experience. Novelists can emulate this approach by immersing themselves in their surroundings, observing characters, and uncovering the stories beneath everyday life's surface.
  3. Technical Mastery: Sting's songwriting prowess is not merely a product of intuition and observation; he also grounds the story in a deep understanding of musical structure, melody, and lyricism. He meticulously crafts his songs, ensuring each element serves the overall narrative. Novelists can similarly benefit from understanding the technical aspects of storytelling, such as plot structure, character development, and narrative voice.

By applying the principles of Sting's songwriting process, novelists can enhance their craft and create compelling narratives that resonate with readers. Embracing intuition, observing the world with a keen eye, and mastering the technical aspects of storytelling can lead to creating truly impactful works of literature.

Here are the lyrics to one of my favorite Sting songs. He bases the story on principles discovered by Psychiatrist Carl Jung. Sting's song explores Jung's belief in collective unconsciousness. Sting has said in interviews that he writes the story of his songs backward. He says knowing the song's last line allows him to drive toward his goal instead of floundering through multiple drafts and dead ends. I like this idea and find that knowing the last line of a novel helps me determine the most effective way of exploring the themes I propose at the beginning.

Listed below are the lyrics to Synchronicity…

A sleep trance, a dream dance
A shared romance, synchronicity

[Chorus]
A connecting principle
Linked to the invisible
Almost imperceptible
Something inexpressible
Science insusceptible
Logic so inflexible
Causally connectable
Nothing is invincible

[Verse 2]
If we share this nightmare
We can dream spiritus mundi
If you act as you think
The missing link, synchronicity

[Chorus]
A connecting principle
Linked to the invisible
Almost imperceptible
Something inexpressible
Science insusceptible
Logic so inflexible
Causally connectable
Nothing is invincible
Oh!
[Verse 3]
We know you, they know me
Extrasensory, synchronicity
A star fall, a phone call
It joins all, synchronicity

[Chorus]
A connecting principle
Linked to the invisible
Almost imperceptible
Something inexpressible
Science insusceptible
Logic so inflexible
Causally connectable
Nothing is invincible

[Verse 4]
It's so deep, it's so wide
You're inside synchronicity
Effect without a cause
Sub-atomic laws
Scientific pause
Synchronicity

[Outro]
Synchronicity
Synchronicity
Synchronicity
Synchronicity
Synchronicity
Synchronicity
Synchronicity
Synchronicity
Synchronicity, oh!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dealing with Rejection

 Every writer gets rejected. It doesn't matter how many books you've written or how many you've sold. There's no way of getting around it. I remember an interview with Barbara Streisand, and she said if someone rejected her for a project, the onus was on the producers for failing to recognize her talent and ability. Paraphrasing, “What, are they nuts?” I like that. Editors and producers don’t know what they want until they see it. It’s kind of like pornography as defined by Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, “I know it when you see it.” Gatekeepers don’t know what they want until they see it. However, that doesn’t soften the sting of rejection. Dealing with rejection is a difficult skill, but it is essential. Everyone experiences rejection at some point, whether in the form of a job application not being accepted, a romantic interest was not reciprocating feelings, or a friend group excluding someone. While rejection can be painful, it is essential to remember ...
Post a Comment
Read more

These Dreams

Are your dreams trying to tell you something? Dreams are intriguing phenomena that have captivated humans for centuries. Some people believe dreams are messages from our subconscious, revealing our hidden desires, fears, or conflicts. Others think dreams are just random images and sensations our brain produces during sleep. But what does science say about the relationship between dreams and the subconscious mind? And how can we use our dreams to better understand ourselves and our conscious minds? And what can creative writers take away from the idea that our subconscious minds are where we do our best writing? One way to approach this question is to examine the process of dream recall, or how we remember our dreams. Dream recall is not straightforward, as most of us forget our dreams soon after waking up. However, some people can recall their dreams more frequently and vividly than others, and some factors can influence the likelihood of dream recall, such as sleep quality, emotio...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meanwhile

 Writing your novel can feel nearly impossible, but many techniques can help keep your readers engaged. One such method is using parallel stories, which writers can use to create tension and suspense. An effective way to do this is to end your scenes so that you cut between them at moments that leave your readers hanging. Writers sometimes call this technique “Meanwhile, back at the ranch.” The nickname dates back to silent movies when title cards between scenes signaled transitions. In the earliest days, studios didn’t make new cards for each movie but used a set of stock cards: “One Year Later,” “Comes the Dawn,” or “Wedding Bells.” “Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch” was the card used most often when the action, for example, cut away from the heroine being tied to a log just as the villain turned on the sawmill. The literary version of this technique dates back to at least Homer. Still, it was probably perfected in the nineteenth century when newly popular magazines serialized nov...
Post a Comment
Read more