Guest Writercize: "Write By Song" by Paul Taylor

Please join me in welcoming Paul Taylor to writercize! I love this guest post, which brings music and writing together for a cohesive writing prompt.

We all get inspired by music. It is fun, lively, mellow, thoughtful or powerful. It can make us want to weep or laugh, run or sleep. Have you ever heard a song that inspired a story in your mind or made you picture a scene that you wish you could have written down? Well, here is your opportunity.

writercize: Create or find a playlist of at least three songs or log on to an online radio station like Spotify or Pandora. As you listen to the songs write a story or series of stories to go along with them. 

You can choose to include the song title or lyrics if you wish or you can just be inspired by the music. Every time the song changes create a new story or paragraph. Bonus points if you can make your story flow or get out full thoughts in the paragraphs you create. 

Author Bio:

Paul Taylor started www.babysittingjobs.com which offers an aggregated look at those sites to help families find sitters and to help sitters find families easier than ever. He loves writing, with the help of his wife. He has contributed quality articles for different blogs & websites.

Click "read more" to see Paul's sample response!!

writercize sample response (by Paul):

(Song: The Only Exception by Paramore) You are the only exception. I know it is cliché to say so, but I feel it every time I look at you. You are the only one I could ever fall in love with, the only one I could ever let touch me, ever feel like I could look at and see my love retuned. You are my dream, the one I have been waiting for. I have been damaged and abused, forgotten about love and made into a fool so many times that it is a wonder I can look at you clearly right now. I know that love never lasts, but with you I feel it could. You know I can’t stand to be alone any longer, not since I have met you. You joked about how far away I was when you met me. How distant and cold and lonely. Until you came. You are my exception. My one true love. I know I sound like a fool, but you make me feel that way. Not foolish but in love and I know that if I just keep believing in you that you will prove me right/ rove that you are the one I have been looking for. You make my reality a dream and my dreams a reality. Even though I can’t be with you as much as I want to I no longer think you are a dream, my imagination incarnate. You are too strong, too flawed, too real for that. And that is how I know you are real. Because I could not love myself as much as you love me. I could not see myself as beautiful and cherished as you see me. I could never be as kind to myself as you are to me. And I believe in you. Every day, I believe in you.

(Song: Shining Light by Ash) Harsh and discordant I see you coming and I flinch. Not in fear, but yet in fear of sorts. You are so bright that you hurt my eyes. You illuminate all the things I could be, should be, are. You make me more than I am and yet less. You are a light that looks into me and illuminates the shadows within me. You are my guiding light. You make me want to be what you need, what I need, what we need to be together forever. You are my source of strength when I am weak, my weakness when I get too strong and haughty. You are the light of my life, though you would blush to hear it. You are like flame, glowing and burning and keeping me truthful with your light. You burn away the excess, bring in warmth and life, and keep me from growing cold. Together we make flame. You are the light and heat. I am the embers, keeping it going but oh so low and steady. You are the flicker, I am the wood. I know that without me you would die but without you I would never see. I have been in the darkness for so long that I thought that I knew what was in it, but in a single second you opened my eyes to new possibilities. Once you opened my eyes I cannot close them again. I have seen and now I must see. My eyes have adjusted to your light and I can see in darkness no more. You are my light.

(Song: Ora by Ludovico Einaudi) It starts slowly. Like a breath of a whisper or the beginning of a nightmare. Then it speeds up, like it is catching on, catching fire, and I know I will be burned away. I pace the long room, waiting for something. I don’t know what I am waiting for and yet I wait. Every once in a while I ship a step, my feet tripping up under me and I glance around to see if anyone has noticed. But I am alone. They are here, but senseless, useless, fingers typing away at tiny keyboards. I angrily turn and pace once more, feeling the hands of the clock moving above me as I watch the door, watch for news. I hear footsteps approach and my heart starts to race, but nothing. I go back to pacing. I wish I knew what was happening. I wish I could look beyond these walls and see. I wish I was not trapped here. I stop, listening for footsteps again, but no. It was just my imagination. I sit, staring at the floor, my fingers drumming against my leg in time with my thoughts. Over and over again they move and I try to ignore the red stains I have been unable to wipe away. I dare not move from my seat in fear they will miss me. I just wait. I hold my breath, trying to fight back tears. I stand and pace again. The movement helps me. Helps me feel like I am doing something, anything to help you. I stop as I remember the blood and then I resume pacing, forcing my mind elsewhere. Twelve steps, turn, twelve steps more. Endless circles, lines, diagrams written in rubber and blackened white tile. Why is everything so white here? I hear footsteps. They are coming. My heart races, doubles, skips and I wait. He is talking but all I hear is “recovering”. I sit down and everything starts to go black. One heartbeat. Two. Three. Like a fluttering bird I come back to my sense slowly, blinking around in confusion at the florescent lit waiting room. You will be fine.