Healing Lance - Storytelling with Song
Originally posted during Healing Lance blog tour.
Storytelling. As far as I know, no other creature in the animal kingdom tells stories the way humans do. Stories can entertain us, teach us lessons, impart information, etc. Where would we be without stories? Without books, plays, movies, TV shows, even songs? I love myself a good concept album from a talented songwriter.
The first stories were told orally, either by acting out the events or by singing about them. Bards and skalds had quite the task to remember the poems or lyrics. Rhyming schemes and alliterative devices were used for a reason. Had to remember them somehow!
I wanted to bring a sense of that storytelling into my trilogy. It isn’t an overpowering influence but simply another way to show the depth and breadth of the world my characters move within. I greatly enjoy the songs in “The Lord of the Rings” and in “The Silmarillion,” and wanted to pepper in my own modest attempts.
As the trilogy grew, so did the song, and a couple of different versions appeared. In “Healing Lance” we get the first version. Since Lance, as the dreaded Scourge, and his master, Ulfr “Mad” Blackwolf, were seen as nightmare fuel, it would make sense that bards and skalds would take note and twist their exploits into story fodder. I have one version of the song in the first book while the complete, updated version, is revealed in the conclusion of the trilogy, “Avenging Lance.”
To do this in a way that makes the most sense to me and to make it feel like a genuine song, I actually modelled the melody after a real song that I adore. That means the songs in my books (any of them) can actually be sung by those who have the talent. (FYI: I do not). By making every aspect of the book more real for me, I hoped to, in turn, make it more real for the readers. I think that matters more in fantasy books than in books set in the real world. With fantasy, the author has to try harder to give some realism since readers can only suspend so much disbelief.
The song I used as a model was Karliene’s “Anne Bonny.” She’s on YouTube and I recommend everyone check it out! She’s an amazing songwriter and that song never fails to get me in a jiggy mood. If you hadn’t guessed, it’s about the infamous female pirate, Anne Bonny.
The song evolved as the story evolved, and I could only finish it when I’d finished the third book. I’m all about details, and when I’m creating my own world from scratch, I have to consciously stop myself from continuing to add until the story is waaaaaay too long! With so many things stuffed in that barely anyone will give a crap about.
That ended up being the hardest part of this trilogy. Knowing when to stop. Knowing when enough was enough and to step away. Telling the story that needed to be told and then letting it rest.
I had such a fun time writing the song(s) and incorporating them into the story. Since one of the themes in the trilogy is the idea of legends, myth, and rumors, it seemed fitting that Lance would be subject to the highs and lows of what people find to be a good story.
Everyone loves a good scary story and, for a while, Scourge was the best nightmare fuel there was. Then Lance emerged and needed to change the tone. Did he manage it? You decide.
May dragons guard your dreams,
M.D. Grimm
