For my book Forever Maybe, I wrote a couple of posts highlighting some of the songs that felt right at home with the story of Jordan and Elia. The existence of those songs seemed serendipitous in many ways. And it was a great source of inspiration to not only listen to the words but visualize the young protagonists singing, being moved by them or reprising them in lovely duets.
Each Story Has A Song
As I wrote Monika Rags, I mostly peered into childhood memories and listened to smooth jazz. But then, one day I was gently asked to stop changing stations and go back to a song he (hubby) is quite fond of. For some reason, I didn’t think I would like it, but once the lyrics got going and that second verse hit, I was getting chills.
This was Monika’s song. The emotional thread that tied her story neatly, summed up her own feelings about what inevitable goodbyes do to one’s heart. The emptiness that hits you every time, and the unspoken wish for that emptiness to go away. She can no longer attach herself to someone who will eventually leave her behind.
A Song Can Shine A Light On The Core of Your Story
Monika Rags is in many ways an exploration of my own conflicted feelings about goodbyes. How many times can we say goodbye before the action becomes moot? How many goodbyes can our hearts take before turning off completely to the significance of what came before? Monika is familiar with the heartache, she has felt many times over. And she knows it would never be as hard as that very first goodbye ever again. With every child who grows up and leaves, she learns, she has hardened. Underlying all this though is the latent unresolved feelings of that first goodbye. In Monika’s heart and in mine.
Confess: What is the song that brought the emotions of one of your stories to the surface? What was the story about?
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