This week’s song fits in the same vein as Soggy Towel River, where each person added their own section to a song, based on the last line of the previous section. While not officially NaNoWriMo related, it shares the same concept of strange and spontaneous writing.
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Hoopshank:
They tied me to a tree
They had their way with me
They left me in a ditch
I developed a terrible itch
All in all it was the best day of my life
Debs:
when I saw the snow begin to fall,
and quietly and quickly it fell,
and presently the light was gone,
and the dazzling whiteness stopped mocking me,
and all was soft and aching familiar,
and the dark was dancing
and the dark was dancing
George Slade:
And the stars, danced
And the night sky, pranced,
Yet still, there was no romance,
And Johnny realized, he had lost his chance,
And the clouds, were gay
And the wind, led the sway
Yet still, there was no romance
And Johnny realized, it wasn’t his day
And the grass, drew red
And the bullet, when through his head
Yet still, there was no romance
And Johnny lay still, dead
Nancy Rost:
There was no romance
And the Barbie dolls were all decipitated
And still there was no romance
Helen’s Evil Twin:
and all the Barbie dolls were decapitated
but Ken had always been castrated
she gave Skipper a mohawk – that kid got off lightly
but you don’t want to know what happened to the Cabbage Patch Dolls.
I could tell you, but you may never sleep sound again.
A brand new song today thanks to Helen’s Evil Twin! She is a fellow FAWMer from England and it’s a crime that we haven’t collaborated before now, because she’s awesome! We were online and I was lamenting over the fact that I had to write a songs as well as the novel this month, and she asked if she could help. I told her that lyrics or a backing track would be grand, and that I was hoping the songs this month would be NaNoWriMo related.
Helen is also participating in NaNoWriMo, so after a little research on the forums she sent me these lyrics that same afternoon. I laughed really hard because this is exactly the space I was in for most of this week as far as my novel is concerned: woefully behind and dragging myself to the daily quota of 1666.66 words…and usually not getting there. I also know for a fact that I have used most of these techniques to increase my word count.
I made some small changes to the lyrics to get them to fit better, and wrote and recorded the whole thing in the space of about two hours today. The melody in the verses are all improvised.
Thanks again, Helen!
Also, for those of you who have a little bit of time, you might be interested in listening to this WrimoRadio podcast where I talk about the process and inspiration behind the NaNoWriMusic 2008. You can also here clips of a few of the songs!
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1666.66
Lyrics: Helen’s Evil Twin
Music: Debs
One thousand, six hundred, sixty-six point six recurring
It’s the number that keeps me from sleeping
Got to keep going until I reach that golden figure
Does it count if I just keep repeating
My protagonist’s catchphrase, “Ahoy, dear friends”
Or maybe I could make it less concise
Like “Ahoy, my dear, sweet, wonderful, stupendous, fabulous friends of mine,”
And would it sound wrong if he always said it twice.
One thousand, six hundred, sixty-six point six recurring
It’s the number that keeps me from sleeping
Got to keep going until I reach that golden figure
Can I stop if my fingers start bleeding?
Now do you think it would be cheating
If my dastardly villain only spoke in Flemish?
And travelled with a translator
Then everything would have to be repeated
For that two-faced Belgian traitor
One thousand, six hundred, sixty-six point six recurring
It’s the number that keeps me from sleeping
Got to keep going until I reach that golden figure
And so I’m sorry, dear readers, I’ll be treating you to a
Stammerer, amnesiac, or someone who’s nearly deaf
or really nervous guy ums and ahs and errs all the time
Gratuitous descriptions of some unimportant moment
Anything, anything that’ll get me close to
One thousand, six hundred, sixty-six point six recurring…
Today’s song is off NaNoWriMusic 2008, the CD that I had co-produced as a fundraiser for National Novel Writing Month (for more details, click here). It’s a cowrite with my friend and fellow participant Errol. Errol has been featured in a few songs this year but this is the first song we’ve written together, and the process was quite hilarious, and definitely one that I really enjoyed.
I wrote my first verse and the music, and sent a really shoddy recording to Errol so that he could hear what it sounded like, and which point we decided it would be cool if each of took turns writing our own verses. I watched incredulously as his verses became weirder and weirder, and, contrary to my own verses, loving every single second of it.
When it came time to create the instrumentation, I felt a little lost on where to start. My recordings tend to be very basic just because I’m writing and posting so quickly, and there often isn’t time to make the music itself very elaborate, but of course this was for a CD, so it had to be properly put together. I sent Errol a basic piano track so that he could add his vocals, thinking that I’d figure out the rest of it later. To my complete surprise, he emailed back an instrumental track that was nothing short of perfect! I had no idea he was so good at arranging and I gladly acquiesced.
All in all, an amazing collaboration process. We were thinking along the same lines the whole time, and I think we really balanced each other out in terms of strengths and weaknesses. This may be the first collaboration with Errol, but it won’t be the last!
Edit on December 2: Errol and I performed this song live at Toronto’s Midway Party, and here is the video.
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Writer’s Block Errol: Hey, what’s wrong? I don’t hear typing. Are you done for the day? Debs: No. I’ve been staring at the screen for ages. It’s just that… Errol: That… Debs: I think I’m stuck Errol: Oh no! Tell me about it, maybe I can help…
Debs:
It’s my protagonist
She’s quite the leading lady
She’s gorgeous, smart and strong
She drives the boys all crazy
But she just stares and me and won’t take direction
It’s just a tad pathetic
I think she might be narcoleptic
Errol:
Well…
I could see she is wild and daring
An accountant with dash and flare
Corporations sing her praises
Solving problems without a care
But she holds a secret that would send her world asunder
She has one dream she’s been wishin
So she’s training to be a radio technician.
Debs:
Thanks for the kind suggestion
But that’s not her at all
In fact that sounds quite boring
that plot is far too small
She needs a storyline that’s worldly and epic
The readers just wouldn’t get her
I think that we could do much better.
Errol:
Oh…ok…how about…
A dry cleaner with strong convictions
Wants to be a political leader
But her boyfriend’s a killer for hire
For the mob but he really needs her.
And she can’t bring herself to voice her own opinions
Even if she feels it’s wrong.
She’s cleaning blood stains all day long.
Or perhaps she could be a ninja!
Breaking gender roles and bones!
She carves death with her Stealth Trebuchet
Fighting off – assailants unknown!
But she meets an opponent that she cannot overcome
A charming man who is a bit uppity.
And he’s cursed, afflicted with lycanthropy.
Debs:
I don’t think this will work
Sorry for my indecision
You do have great ideas
But we’ve just got different visions
This plotline should tap into something enormous
Humanity as a whole
Bound to ignite the very soul
Errol:
Oh, I know, she could be duck! (Debs: I don’t want her to be a duck)
On the run from many attackers.
She’s a delicacy of high demand (Debs: my NaNo novel’s gonna suck)
Chinese chefs are trying to catch her!
And then she meets up with a friendly obstetrician (Debs: I think that I should just give it up)
They fall in love and things get sweeter. (Debs: Just stop!)
But in the end he just decides to eat her. (Deb: Please stop! I’ve had enough, this novel was a bad idea from the start)
Errol:
Well I really should be going.
Gotta find where the kids are at.
My wife is speaking at a rally.
It’s been fun thanks for the chat.
Hope she doesn’t notice that I look like a zombie (Debs: Zombies! Yes, that’s perfect!)
She’s always out till who knows when. (Debs: You’re a genius!)
I certainly hope she’s not with men. (Debs: Thank you so much!)
Errol/Debs:
I/you should get back to typing
the NaNo novel that needs writing!
Way back at the beginning of this project, I knew that November was going to be tough. I knew it because I was going to be participating in my third National Novel Writing Month – in other words, I was going to be attempting to write a 50 000 word novel while also posting weekly songs AND co-planning events for the participants of Toronto. Phew!
So here we are in scary November. While I haven’t started my novel yet, I do have songs ready to go for the next two weeks, and here is why…I had to write them early so that they could be included on a CD! It’s called NaNoWriMusic 2008, and it’s a compilation of original songs by Toronto-area writers about the novel writing experience. I am extremely proud of it, not only because my songs are featured on it, but also because I co-produced it! We are selling this CD to raise funds for National Novel Writing Month, the amazing worldwide program that has inspired so many people to chase their creative dreams. If you’re interested in buying one in support, you can find more information on the Discography page of the site.
Today’s song is called Do It Again and was written at the beginning of the 50 Songs in 90 Days Challenge. I was saving it for this week, because I knew that the premise behind it “got to write something, got to write NOW!!” would fit the mood of the first few days of novel writing exactly.
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Do It Again
I’m sitting down at the keyboard,
feels strange that there’s no snow outside,
but here I am to do it again, do it again
Some would say that this is crazy,
and of course that’s true,
but this is the time to do it again, do it again
Put the pencil to paper,
put the fingers to the keys,
pray to the stars that the music comes easy,
pray to the earth that the lyrics won’t freeze
Take some time to do it right, but not too long,
because soon you’ll have the urge to do it again.
Put the pencil to paper,
put the fingers to the keys,
pray to the stars that the music comes easy,
pray to the earth that the lyrics won’t freeze
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Nov 24 2008