Monday, January 15, 2007

Sparking Your Historical Muse

The rhythmic pounding of drums, the silvery click-click of rattles, and the ethereal, high-pitched piping of flutes had my blood pulsing to a primal beat, transporting me far away in time and space to Ohio Territory in 1776, among the embattled Shawnee. Draped in the fresh pelt of a great, grey wolf, the shaman, Wolfslayer, was leading his followers in a hypnotic dance to seek a new vision from their god Moneto. Meanwhile, my hero White Eagle watched from the shadows, brooding over his adversary’s designs to wrest leadership of the tribe from him.

Sounds like a mystical experience, doesn’t it? In a way it was. That morning I was weaving my Mini around Highway 70’s tight curves below sheer rock cliffs along the Harpeth River, heading west to my office in Nashville, Tennessee. Mentally and emotionally, however, I was in a scene in Wind of the Spirit, book 3 of my American Revolutionary War series. I could see it unfold in my mind’s eye, and I groped for my trusty digital voice recorder to capture the vision before it could melt away.

Do you ever use music as a sort of muse to spark your imagination? I suspect many of us do, perhaps casually, as is the usual case for me—or perhaps intentionally, as I’m finding myself doing more and more. They say music has power to tame the savage beast. I’m discovering it also has power to bring scenes in my stories to vivid life. As a result, I’m putting the CDs I’ve collected over the years to a use I never intended when I bought them.

For example, back in December I was looking for a CD of colonial Christmas music, and on Amazon I found Sing We Merrily: A Colonial Christmas. The first time I listened to it, I immediately came up with a scene that will take place near the end of Wind of the Spirit. Following a separation of almost a year and a half, my heroine, Elizabeth Howard, has found her beloved, Jonathan Carleton, among the Shawnee in Ohio Territory. She brings him back to rejoin Washington’s army, and on Christmas Eve they find the bedraggled colonials encamped just across the Delaware River from Trenton, New Jersey, where they have been pushed by British General Howe’s forces after being driven out of New York City.

Ragged, hungry, without supplies, the badly mauled and outnumbered remnant of Washington’s battered brigade huddles around meager, smoky campfires all across the snowy Pennsylvania fields during that bleak night. For many, their enlistments end New Year’s Day, and regardless of their commander’s pleas, most intend to give up the struggle and return home, effectively breaking the back of the rebellion. Now, at their darkest hour, a soldier at one of the campfires impulsively begins to sing. And one by one, his fellows join in.

A virgin unspotted by Prophet foretold,
Should bring forth a Saviour which now we behold,
To be our Redeemer from death, hell, and sin,
Which Adam’s transgressions involved us in.

Then let us be merry, put sorrow away,
Our Saviour, Christ Jesus, was born on this day.
Then let us be merry, put sorrow away,
Our Saviour, Christ Jesus, was born on this day …

As yet unknown to them, the following night Washington will lead them across the ice-clogged Delaware on a desperate gamble to attack the Hessian outpost at Trenton in the teeth of a nor’easter the like of which few had ever experienced. Two men will freeze to death in their tracks while waiting to board the Durham boats ferrying them across the Delaware. Raked by gale-driven sleet, snow, and hail, the troops stumble through snowdrifts, many with bloody feet bound in strips of rags. But the morning of December 26, 1776, against all odds, they win an astounding victory over the formidable Hessian troops. As a result, many who had planned to abandon the cause will choose, instead, to reenlist and hang in there with Washington for a little while longer, thus saving the rebellion for another year.

If you haven’t yet discovered the power of music to practically write scenes for you, start to think about what songs or genres of music would fit with the stories you’re writing. What kind of music does your hero/heroine love or dislike? What kind of music would your characters commonly hear being played around them as they go about their daily lives? What hymns are sung at their church services? I know my buddy Lori has been checking out spirituals for her family saga set in 1790s North Carolina, and I think she’s even writing one for her characters to sing. Now that’s exciting!

Over the years, I’ve collected a rather eclectic mix of music CDs, and I often play one or another while I’m taking that one-hour drive from my home to my office in Nashville and back again. Offhand, I don’t know how many scenes I’ve written as a result, but there have been several. Just a few of the CDs in my collection are Mesa Sunrise and Ancient Canyons, modern Native American music by John Huling that has inspired more than one scene in Wind of the Spirit; Colonial and Revolution Songs by Keith and Rusty McNeil; a number of CDs of medieval carols and motets, chant and polyphony by Anonymous 4, which will enliven my medieval epic tragedy once I get back to it; Elohim, modern Jewish worship music—who knows what story that might spark; classical music from several different eras; 4 CDs of popular WWII songs that are giving me lots of fodder for my WWII era Mennonite romance; and country (for my Nashville-based music industry-centered contemporary romance), gospel, and contemporary music in a variety of genres from the 1950s to today that harbor endless possibilities. I’m even tinkering with a story based on Randy Travis’ award-winning song “Three Wooden Crosses.”

Searches on the Internet, including on retail sites like Amazon, yield all sorts of fascinating and helpful music as well as information that can lead you further. Don’t overlook this rich source of inspiration and creativity!

This is shaping up to be an eclectic week as far as topics are concerned. I’m going to hop around a bit. Tomorrow I plan to dip into a subject that’s especially appropriate for the beginning of the New Year: the history of our calendar. Do you know what our calendar is called? How did our calendar develop? How old is it? What calendar was in use before the one we’re using today? Does everyone use the same calendar? I’ve come up with lots of fascinating information on the subject, so be sure to drop by tomorrow.

On Wednesday, reviewer extraordinaire Michelle Sutton is going to share a sneak peek at Loving Liza Jane, an excellent historical romance coming out in April. I’m working on getting an interview with the author for next month, so keep watching for that.

Thursday and Friday are up for grabs, i.e., I haven’t definitely decided on topics yet. If you’ve been harboring a question or idea you’d like to see covered, post it in a comment, and I’ll consider it for our discussion.

If you post a comment this week, you'll automatically be entered in the drawing to win a copy of Deeanne Gist's A Bride most Begrudging. The lucky winner is going to be in for a treat, so be sure to jump into our dialog. See you tomorrow!

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Joan,

Yes, music definitely is inspiring for me in writing historical fiction, and connecting with the deeper spirit of my characters. I have several characters who are slaves, and the music that has been most inspiring in that context is Velma Maia Thomas's NO MAN CAN HINDER ME, The Journey from Slavery to Emancipation through Song. It's a book and CD together, with 18 spirituals and their history.

Scottish/Celtic music, contemporary and traditional, is a big inspiration for me, too. As is Colonial and Revolutionary music. MUSIC OF THE AMERICAN COLONIES is a favorite, although it's pretty spendy (I frequently borrow my library's copy).

Thanks for listing your favorites, Joan. I'll probably order some of the Native American music. And the Colonial/Rev one you listed, too.

Hope others chime in with some of their favorite inspiring music. I love finding new music this way.

Oh, and I have something of a prayer request for all you fellow writers. Our county here in Oregon is suffering from severe budget cuts and lack of funding, and our public libraries will be closing on April 7th, county wide, indefinitely. Please pray that some sort of funding will be found to replace the lost timber revenues that have supported the libraries for many many decades. I can't quite imagine what it's going to be like without this major source of research material no longer available to me, and so many others.

Thanks!

Lori Benton

Karen Eve said...

Thank you for bringing up music Joan. I'm not an audio person and wouldn't think about listening to music, even though I know I'm supposed to weave all the senses into a character.
Thanks Again.

J. M. Hochstetler said...

Hi, Lori!

Thank you for the tip about Music of the American Colonies! I'll have to save my pennies.... LOL!

I'm shocked to hear your public libraries are going to be shut down! That's a huge loss. I'll be praying about that. I just can't imagine what that's going to mean for students and people doing research. Oh, dear!

Deborah said...

oh wow i finally found you guys! i was wondering what had happened because the old blog hadn't been updated in forever and then it said the blog was not found. i'm so happy you guys are still up, now i have to go back and read what i've missed!

J. M. Hochstetler said...

Hi, Karen!

If you think about it, music is very important to all of us--both in the church and in popular culture. I think referring to music in our stories forges a link with our readers too. When I read a contemporary story that mentions songs I know, it gives me deeper insight into the characters. If a song is quoted in a historical, I get a better sense of the culture as well as the character. To me, it's just a great way to set time, place, and mood.

J. M. Hochstetler said...

Deborah,

I'm so glad you found us! We posted announcements several places when we got locked out of the original site, but I know we've lost readers. At this point we don't know if we're ever going to be able to get back into the other one. So if you know anyone else who's looking for us, let them know where we are.

Becky said...

I have always listened to music whether I am writing or reading a book. In fact, I have often thought that books should be marketed with a music cd for each one that captures the mood and tone and essence of each one. I guess that's a trend that hasn't caught on yet. :) I love it when authors let readers know what music or what songs their characters love. Some do this on websites. Some include authors notes.

But I'll just share this one book that I think is a perfect example. THE ROAD TO PARIS by Nikki Grimes is a wonderful children's book. The narrator, Paris, is a young girl who has been in foster care most of her life. When the book starts she's just been relocated and for the first time is being separated from her brother. But one of the things that really pulls her through this tough time is when her new family takes her to church and encourages her to join the choir. The transformation is just so wonderful. And one of my favorite scenes in the novel is when she's getting ready for Easter and juxtaposed with the words of "Because He Lives" the reader gets an inside view of how her heart has changed. It's not marketed as a Christian book. It's just a mainstream children's book. But it is one of the most heartwarming 'perfect' books I've ever read.

I won't lie. I would have loved the book anyway because of its beautiful message and powerful storytelling...but the fact that the author used a song--one of my all-time favorites--to weave with the thoughts of this character really spoke to me. I could instantly connect with the character. I could identify with the emotions. I was there. I could picture it. I could hear it. I felt it. They weren't just words on the page. They meant something.

http://blbooks.blogspot.com/2006/12/keeping-god-in-your-pocket.html

J. M. Hochstetler said...

Becky,

You've just proven what I personally believe, though it's only been in the last couple of years that I really became aware of this aspect. And I think your idea of marketing books with a music CD is fabulous! I had the same thought when I came up with the idea of writing the story of Three Wooden Crosses. I wonder if folks in the music industry would be interested in working with publishers to do this. I'm convinced readers would love it.

The Road to Paris sounds like a great book, btw. I'll have to look for it for my granddaughter.

Cindy Thomson said...

I'm so happy people are finding us now! Please pass the word!

Novels with CDs--it is happening! Stephen Lawhead, for example, has paired with Jeff Johnson. The book and CD aren't packaged together, but Johnson and Brian Dunning (Celtic musicians) have written music inspired by Lawhead's novels. I downloaded the one that goes with the latest--Hood, from iTunes. It was only a couple of songs. This is EXACTLY what I hope to do with my next novel, God willing!

Cindy

Kaye Dacus said...

I'm fortunate that many movies have been made set during my time period, so I've been able to get soundtracks to Pride & Prejudice in its different iterations. I am a little bit of a classical music buff, too, which helps--I have many CDs of music composed during the time I'm writing.

J. M. Hochstetler said...

Cindy,

Terrific!! I'm so glad to hear this is already beginning to happen. It seems like such a no-brainer when you really think about it. You go, girl!

J. M. Hochstetler said...

Kaye,

You know, I didn't even think of movie soundtracks, but you're right! That's perfect. Now I need to get the soundtrack for Last of the Mohicans! And The Scarlet Pimpernel. And...

I think you may have started something. Oh, my poor budget. LOL!

Anonymous said...

Cindy,

We've been fans of Johnson/Dunning book soundtracks (and Stephen Lawhead's fiction) for about 15 years. I still remember the day my husband brought home the soundtrack to the first Albion book. It was such a cool new concept, and I loved their sound. It was the first Celtic music I'd ever heard. Began a real love affair for me.

You might enjoy Dunning's earlier work with the group Night Noise. Sort of new agey/Celtic in sound. I don't know what the title of the CD is, but the one with the song KID IN THE COT, is good. That's still one of my all time favorite songs.

Lori