Many years ago, I was part of a "write a novel in a
week"-a-thon. My book was about a
girl whose obsession with a certain band lead to the creation of a new
religion. After the write-fest was over,
I pitched the idea to an editor who told me it would never work. "You can't write music," she said. "You have to hear it." Yes, I know that's all kinds of wrong, but
that's what she said and this was early in my career, so I let it go.
This time, I'm sticking to my guns. I've started thinking of books that have used
music successfully. There seem to be two
methods in novels—writing out the lyrics (a la LORD OF THE RINGS and "Baby
Can You Dig Your Man" in Stephen King's THE
STAND) or simply describing the
experience of hearing the music. There's a great scene in David Edding's KING
OF THE MURGOS that sticks out in my head, in which Polgara and a couple of
the other ladies sing about an ancient battle.
That's the scene that makes me want to write a song into this book. I wish I'd remembered it when that editor
poo-pooed me. I'd have shown it to her.
Last night, I went back and read the scene again. This morning, I rewrote my chapter. And then, in a fit of inspiration, I went
back and wrote the lyrics. Seriously, I could
sing it to you right now. It needs some work
and probably won't end up in the finished book, but it helps to know what I am
describing. Now I'm excited to see how
it turns out.
So, what do you think?
Can original music work in a novel?
If so, what's the best method—experience or lyrics? And, if the lyrics exist, would you want to
hear the songs, maybe as an audio or e-book extra?
