How to write a song. Try these plot and character development techniques to tell your story.
Grab my new Songwriting Blueprint to guide your song idea from start to finish.
The setup gives us the information we need to get our song started. The purpose of the set-up is to create the spine or direction or our story. This is where we build our story line. The set - up paints a picture for the listener. We need to begin with an image, feeling, or sense of what’s going on. The goal is to try to paint with words and create a mood for the listener.
Situational - A series of events adds up over time to move us through the story. Think of “Don’t take the Girl.”
Story (action) Songs - Story songs have a beginning, middle, and end. Think of “Coward of the County.”
Emotional - Emotional songs focus on a single emotion or mood - Think of the country song “Amazed.”
Who are the characters in your song? It’s it you? Is it a fictional character, a lover or friend? Characters have a lot of influence in your song. There’s something the characters in your story are after. This character aspect gives direction to your song. Let’s look at the character development in you songs
Motivation — Motivation pushes your character ahead in the song. A physical action, emotion, or conversation might be motivation for the character. Some ways a motivation might show up to create action would be a memory or flashback, an escape, or a breakup. The motivation needs to be clear and thought out to give your song the right push.
The Goal - Depending on the motivation you choose, the character begins to look for a goal. Is it returning to a lover? Is it going back home? What does your character want? The goal ties the character to the spine of the story. The story is resolved by the character going after the goal and achieving it.
Let’s look at how our goal can resolve.
What’s at stake in the story? What is lost if the main character doesn’t get to the goal?
What’s in the way of the character achieving the goal?
Is the goal set up in such a way that it creates courage, resourcefulness, or determination within the character
Think of “The Cape” by Guy Clark
Action - How does the character achieve the goal? How to you create strength and stability within your characters? Your characters have to face adversity and vulnerability so they can build credibility with your listener. The more your character has to struggle, the stronger the actions. The more difficult the actions, the stronger the character.
You have four main choices for writing your song plot.
1. Perspective - What point of view are you using? First (I/We) Second(You) Third (He/she/they)
2. Voice - Are you using an Internal Voice (thinking) or External Voice (Talking or Action)
3. Place in time - is it Past, Present, Future, or Now
4. The Setting - here and now, a certain place, changing scenes, planes, trains, automobiles
Try to build your story keeping the characters and plot development in mind.
1 0 types of plot development you can use in your song
1. Conversation - uses a conversation to express the lyrical content. Could be a duet or a conversation within a song. Think “Picture by Kid Rock & Sheryl Crow.”
2. Sequence of events - The details of the song happen in sequential order. Think of someone growing older or a house weathering in a field. Think of how you would describe a sequence of events.
3. A Question - The question is presented in the first verse and isn’t answered until the end. Think of pondering a pressing matter and ask questions in the verses until it is answered in the end.
4. Scenes - Think of each verse being a vignette paining a series of scenes throughout the song.
5. Puns - Can you make a song out of a pun without using a cliche?
6. Conflict - Conflict is a great thing to write about. Who is it with? Where is it happening? Why? See if you can use the methods I’ve given you to write a song about conflict
7. The Twist - The song gives you a plot twist in the in with the spine or characters. These fit well with a specific song form that we will explore in the next section.
8. Imagery - Use creative imagery to create ideas, titles, and verses. Use similes and metaphors to create fresh words.
9. Foreshadowing - Leads up to a plot twist or character twist before it happens
10. Tension - creates tension by creating contrast with a desired reality with what actually is
Grab the FREE Songwriting Blueprint here to follow along:
