I chose Space Oddiity to base my story on and took part of the lyric "but there is nothing I can do" as a repeat line in what I produced. I plan to work on this story and, once as happy with it as I can ever get with a piece of writing, find a suitable market for it. The session was fun (as indeed all creative sessions should be). Let's just say if they run this session again next year, I'm planning to go - yes, already!
I've always loved songs that tell stories and some of my favourites include:-
- Richard Marx - The River (misfit in a small town is accused of girlfriend's disappearance, she is presumed dead. Cheery little ditty as you can imagine but it is phenomenally well done).
- Squeeze - Up the Junction. (Great slice of life ballad).
- Squeeze - Cool for Cats (Yes, I love Squeeze and this song never fails to make me smile with its cast of characters).
- The Carpenters - Goodbye to Love. (As well as having a truly great guitar solo, there is a story behind why the character is singing these lyrics).
So yes I will be looking much more closely at songs for inspiration. I found it was the mood of Space Oddiity as well as the theme of heroic tragedy that inspired my story and I know just that alone is enough to inspire more fiction. What I love about fiction writing is all sorts of things can inspire ideas and then it's a question of picking the strongest and running with it. The crucial thing is to be ready to spot the ideas all around you.