Let's Dance!

Music has the power to move you. How I get rhythm into my writing.

Last weekend, my husband and I went to see the local Broadway production of Mama Mia. If you know me, don’t judge me. Long before I became a hard-core Punk Rocker, long before I pierced my ears with safety pins and died my hair purple, I grew up singing songs like “Take a Chance on Me,” “Money Money Money,” and “Dancing Queen.” I know purple hair is cool now, but back then, it didn’t go over so well with the people at my debutante ball (circa 1982). Yep. I was that rebel.

My Debutante Ball (1982) I’m the one looking at the camera. I don’t think the dress was my first choice, LOL. (ref. photo at the end of this post.)

The Mama Mia performance was great! It had been a difficult week for me with family and a barrage of rejection letters. I wasn’t exactly in the mood for uplifting entertainment. And yet…by intermission, I was lighter on my feet and humming the songs. And by the end?

Side note: The Broadway version of Mama Mia has absolutely the best curtain call/encore you’ll ever witness. After the actors take a bow, they sing and dance five more songs. The stars return to the stage in shiny spandex. It was about the 70’s! The audience (last week, anyway) was on their feet, waving their hands and bouncing to the music.

And by the end, I was positively giddy. I’d forgotten all the drama and negativity of the previous week. And I danced.

Music—as you know—has the power to move you. Whether you realize it or not, rhythms in writing can also affect the experience for readers. As a classical pianist and music teacher, I often think about how to use this power in my manuscripts. I’m not talking about rhyming couplets, or metered verse, though I’ve heard of authors who use those tools in their novels. Cool.

A more subtle way to use rhythm in your writing, is in selecting the voice for each chapter. For example, the book I’m publishing this summer has both Mina’s voice and her lover, Jonathon’s. Since this is the first book I’ve written with both characters’ voices, I didn’t want to overwhelm readers with Jonathon. Instead, I carefully plotted out two chapters starring Mina then one with Jonathon. I keep up this 3-chapter rhythm for the entire book. As my characters waltz, I hope the reader feels this dance as they read.

Here’s another more complicated example of that technique in the thriller I’m revising now. This novel has 3 POV’s. Quinn, the mother, is the main character, followed by her daughter Taylor’s POV and Ray, the villain. Since she’s the primary character, Quinn get’s two chapters to each of Taylor’s. Sometimes I alternate flashback scenes, and every 8 chapters, I give Ray his moment in the spotlight. Deliberately, his chapters interrupt the rhythm. In the first chapters, I want the reader to know there are 3 POVs. Then I find my rhythm. It looks like this:

1. Quinn

2. Taylor

3. Quinn

4. Ray

5. Quinn

6. Quinn

7. Taylor

8. Quinn

9. Quinn

10. Flashback

11. Quinn

12. Ray (He’s here, interrupting the rhythm.)

13. Quinn

Another way I find rhythm is in word choices and short sentences. I like using three short rhythmic bullets to emphasize a point. Like this: Ray had taken care of his mother too. He walked her dog, shopped for her, cooked for her. He helped her bathe.

This week one of my critique partners pointed out a spot where the writing missed the rhythmic marks. (Thanks Sharon P. Lynn!) Say this sentence aloud: “Together they fight against weaponized drones, guerilla attacks and time to rescue Jonathon.” the word time get's lost. She suggested this: “Together they fight against time, weaponized drones, and guerilla attacks to rescue Jonathon.” And somehow, it flows much more smoothly. Read them both aloud to really notice the difference.

I’m currently reading a book that was written with 95% dialogue. An interesting choice, it feels like it was adapted from a screen play with little or no body placement, movement, or action. It contains every And, But, This, That and The other thing that we tend to put in our dialogue. As a reader, it’s pretty awful to slog through all the Thens and Thats. It has no rhythm and I find myself skipping whole paragraphs.

To solve a problem like this, I suggest using an editor to help you streamline. Also, read your work out loud. See if it flows off your tongue like a song. Then, dance.  

Here I am in my Punk Rock days. Circa 1985.

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