[Diana de Cabarrus]

Feb 6-13 – Get back into 6 mins writing.

Considering the idea of connection in lyric writing – via powerhouse verbs, via detail about your situation, via inhabiting the voice of someone else.

Considering the speed of the narrative. More detail = slower plot action.
Less detail = faster plot action.
No detail = we don’t care about the plot action…

PEOPLE, PLACES, AND TIMES “Who” barmaid
policeman
middle-aged woman
diplomat
shopaholic
construction worker
priest
actor
BMW driver on his
cell phone
hang glider
Olympic swimmer
orphan
widow
architect
chain smoker
drug addict
family business
owner
hairdresser
dentist
husband and father
of four “When” just after midnight
while brushing your
teeth
pulling into your
driveway
just before falling
asleep
just waking up
driving to work in the
morning
while waiting for test
results
just after a kiss
while putting on
makeup
while running the
garbage disposal
running through the
airport
just before a car crash “Where” coffee shop
police station
inside a stolen car
a hotel room
unemployment line
a library
alley in NYC
airport
on the interstate
a wine cellar
a school gym
an office cubicle
on top of Mt. Everest
standing in front of
the open
refrigerator
your bedroom
the last pew of a
church
the bottom of the
Grand Canyon
your living room with
the lights out
a fine art gallery
gazing through a
bakery window in
the rain

Stolpe, Andrea. Popular Lyric Writing: 10 Steps to Effective Storytelling (Kindle Locations 2526-2532). Berklee Press. Kindle Edition.