Instead of a picture today, I putting up a video and the lyrics. Can you write something to this? What does Alphaville inspire in you.

My story will appear in the comments. Please share yours as well.

Alphaville
Forever Young lyrics

Let’s dance in style, lets dance for a while
Heaven can wait we’re only watching the skies
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst
Are you going to drop the bomb or not?
Let us die young or let us live forever
We don’t have the power but we never say never
Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip
The music’s for the sad men
Can you imagine when this race is won
Turn our golden faces into the sun
Praising our leaders we’re getting in tune
The music’s played by the madman

Forever young, i want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever forever
Forever young, i want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever
Forever young

Some are like water, some are like the heat
Some are a melody and some are the beat
Sooner or later they all will be gone
Why don’t they stay young
It’s so hard to get old without a cause
I don’t want to perish like a fading horse
Youth is like diamonds in the sun
And diamonds are forever
So many adventures couldn’t happen today
So many songs we forgot to play
So many dreams are swinging out of the blue
We let them come true

Forever young, i want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever forever
Forever young, i want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever forever forever
Forever young, i want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever forever
Forever young, i want to be forever

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Sarah is writer looking for an agent. She is currently working on novel # 4, editing novels 2 and 3, and querying novel # 1. For more insight to her work, visit: http://legendoftheprotectors.wordpress.com/ or http://legendoftheprotectors.blogspot.com/

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The Creation of Three Dimensional Characters in C minor:  Or how to use music to discover voice

Do you ever feel there is a soundtrack to your life?  Is music important to your memory, and to your own past (back-story…) Humans are connected to music in a visceral way.  It tugs at us and pulls us in.  It changes our mood, makes us laugh and cry, helps us through the hard times, and helps to keep us awake when we are driving.  What would a world be like without music?

When I was little one of my favorite things in the world, (get ready, I am about to expose the secret dork who lives under my skin,) was a record by Prokofiev:  Peter and the Wolf.  There were very few words to the story, the premise of it was that each character was given a sound, and then when the sounds were put together you could hear the story. Without the words!  I listened to that album (yes vinyl) over and over again.  I can still remember the sound the wolf made, an ominous trio of horns, but delightful too… letting the listeners of the narrative understand his complexity.  Beware the wolf who is dangerous and delightful and dark. I remember…

And that is what we want for our characters, right?  We want them to be complex and well defined.  Flawed and full of emotion.  We want the reader to make that connection with the people in the stories that we tell.

So here is a little trick that I use.  When I am thinking up my stories, I give my characters music as well as a name.  They need to have a sound, a rhythm, a beat.  I need to know what music is playing inside their heads so I can make them move.

For example, in my novel, Haunting Anne, my dark and brooding heroin, Anne, was connected to The Cure and to The Cranberries. It didn’t matter that she was coming of age in the 1950′s.  She is a timeless character and the music helped me create a timeless mood.  The honesty that poured out of her when I was listening to her music was amazing, and the flow was nonstop.  It hurt my brain because the words couldn’t be typed fast enough.

The really interesting part of all of this what remains.  Now that I am through with the creation of that novel, the music still belongs to them, those people who haunted me for all that time.  Even though I have my own memories and bits of nostalgia connected to the music I used to help fortify the complexity of my characters, I no longer think about those things when I am driving in my car with the radio on.  Instead, I think of them!  Their stories and their lives! Talk about multiple personality disorder….

Music.  It is a powerful tool.  Try it!

Suzanne M. Palmieri

Suzanne is a Sociologist by profession and degree. She teachs Social Behavior and Social Interaction as well as many courses in Deviance at the university level.

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So my brother is here and had me look up the group Mury. I love this song, and wanted to write a story about it.

Here’s the video (not great) and the lyrics (awesome). Love the music. Love the words.

Let’s see how this inspires you.

Here are the lyrics:

I hate the way that my words come together at your expense
Wish that when I wrote I wouldn’t have to be so honest
Show some tact or show some class or maybe just some respect
I’ll respect you when you respect me, what can you expect?
I’m just being honest

I still fight the urge to call, I know there’s nothing to say
I still love you and I think about you every day
It’s not easy for me though I know I act like it is
Feel the pain that hurts so bad I guess I’ve gotta fake it
Just like I’ve gotta say this

That this song is the b-side to the truth
About how I really feel about you
And I know sometimes my words they burn like hell
But I still want you, if you can’t tell

It’s hard to see you I know that we’ve got to act like we’re friends
Force a smile, fake a hug and try not to act nervous
“How am I? I’m good, no great, no perfect, life’s just a treat”
Ask you question after question, I don’t want you to leave
I just want you to see

That this song is the b-side to the truth
About how I really feel about you
And I know sometimes my words they burn like hell
I still want you, if you can’t tell

I’ve got the keys if you wanna roll
I’ll take you anywhere that you wanna go
We’ll climb in the backseat like when we first met
I’ll lay on my back while you lay on my chest

I’ve got the keys if you wanna roll
I’ll take you anywhere that you wanna go
We’ll climb in the backseat like when we first met
I’ll lay on my back while you lay on my chest
While you lay on my chest

This song is the b-side to the truth

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Sarah is writer looking for an agent. She is currently working on novel # 4, editing novels 2 and 3, and querying novel # 1. For more insight to her work, visit: http://legendoftheprotectors.wordpress.com/ or http://legendoftheprotectors.blogspot.com/

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