I Want...

TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT…

In this month of love and Hallmark cards, the thing I’ve been most inspired by is the “I Want” song in Broadway musicals.

I know what you’re thinking: this isn’t a newsletter about musicals. But if my life was a movie it would be a musical so grab some popcorn and settle in.

Every few months I get together with a small group of friends and we pick a theme, hire an accompanist, and perform musical theater songs for each other. And this month we settled on the “I Want” song.

The “I Want” song typically follows the opening number. The main character tells us exactly what she wants, and sets the trajectory for the entire show. (Yes, there is much that writers can learn from this—don’t worry, I’ll get back to this point.)

As I’ve prepared my “I Want” songs (from Waitress and Gypsy—your girl is a mezzo belter) I’ve been thinking about how great it would be if we all just said what we wanted, and then made it happen. I mean, why don’t we do that? Just imagine how much easier the holidays would be.

WHEN SPARKS IGNITE—PLUS a GIVEAWAY!

When Sparks Ignite is set to hit bookshelves in two weeks.

Yep. You read that right. It’s coming on March 5th!

It’s been a long road but finally that cliffhanger from Of Wind and Tide will hang no more. Also, if you read Unchosen, there are a few threads that get tied up. (For those of you shipping a very particular pairing, I can neither confirm nor deny—but I think you’ll enjoy it.)

With the series coming to a close so soon, it felt like the perfect time to do a giveaway. Since you are my most loyal readers I’m giving you first crack at it. I’ll be offering up an autographed set of all three paperback novels: that’s But for the Mountains, Of Wind and Tide, and Unchosen.

To enter: fill out this form, and in the comment section tell me if you have a favorite character in the series. (Rules: one form entry per person, must be a current subscriber to this newsletter, I can only ship to U.S. addresses, and I will not sell your information.) The winner will be notified by March 1, 2024.

I’LL TELL YOU WHAT I WANT…

I’ve always thought that we as writers could learn so much from the “I Want” song. More than that, writing a truly good “I Want” song is an art. Here are four examples of killer lines from particularly strong “I Want” songs:

There are two things I want to point out from these examples. First, how incredible is it to see these characters’ wants distilled down to such an elegant plea? Second, holy cannoli are these voicey or what? Just from these little excerpts you know exactly who these characters are, exactly what they want, and you could probably guess what the antagonistic force will do. (Go ahead, think on it.)

So writers, I challenge you to consider what the one-liner from your main character’s “I Want” song might be.

BACKLIST BOOK CLUB

What is it about books that send us through the looking glass, only for the hero to realize that things weren’t so bad on the other side? Is it that we’re constantly wondering just how green that grass is on the other side? Or is that we want to be reassured that the grass on our side of the fence isn’t all that bad?

I first read John Connolly’s The Book of Lost Things about fifteen years ago, and the story has stuck with me. A grieving little boy hides in an attic bedroom with only his books to comfort him. And then those books start talking to him. As his family falls apart downstairs, he’s swept into a world populated with the strange creatures from his books, and you have to read it to see where it goes.

If you like Neil Gaiman, Seanan McGuire, and the darker parts of Roald Dahl, you’ll love this book.

I hope you get everything you want (what you really really want) this February, and I’ll see you in March!

Til then…