Title: I Hate that old type of Songfic
Subtitle: Song fictions are the bane of fiction
Date: December 2, 2005
I walk a lonely road the only one that I have ever known
First I need to say this as a disclaimer, this title came from “That old type of rock’n’roll,” by well I can’t seem to find their name, if you know it please tell me.
Don’t know where it goes but it’s home to me and I walk alone
Does anybody at all remember, “Hello”? Good, good. Ever looked at the lyrics? I’ve never heard of it, but I read a song fiction of it once of this song and read through the lyrics. They’re pure crap. Seriously, just well horrible. I was saddened that the author had chosen these lyrics for a shoddy angst filled story. Even more grief-struck that the story itself was wonderfully bad.
I walk this empty street on the boulevard of broken dreams
Continuing. Song fics, please refrain from doing them. Song fictions are perfectly acceptable stories, but they have one line of a song’s lyrics jammed in the middle of the narratives. This is different from a story where someone needs to sing a song and you jam in all the lyrics at one time.
Where the city sleeps and I’m the only one and I walk alone
The difference between the two is sort of the difference between a music video and a musical. In a music video the characters are playing out a story with some currently popular song playing in the background. Please note the word currently, I’ll get back to that. And in a musical the characters take some time out of the plot to sing a song. Music videos are what I’ll call song fictions and musicals are what I’ll call the former choice. Both happen to be annoying when one is trying to write prose.
I walk alone I walk alone
Like I said earlier, song fictions contain the lyrics of a currently popular song. In five years no one except obsessed otaku are going to know what the freak sort of song you’re using. Perhaps the lyrics are suiting to the mood of the story. Are we talking the lyrics or the lyrics and the tune? If it’s the later, just scrap the idea instantly. Former, well maybe, just maybe, your fiction will be one of those timeless good song fictions.
I walk alone I walk a…
There’s no chance in hell of that, actually. Ninety nine percent of song fictions are pure worthless crap. So save your dignity and stop, for the love of anything and everything you believe in, stop.
My shadow’s the only one that walks beside me
I’m sure they’re out there. With lyrics that describe and enhance the mood of the story instead of detracting from it. Song fictions don’t have to be bad, but just because a few of them are good, that doesn’t mean yours will be, there are probably only twelve in the whole of fandoms and you are not going to make it thirteen. In fact, if its just a song you like and want to include in the story disease and desist from writing it immediately. Pull the lyrics out of your story and then just put up the narrative.
My shallow heart’s the only thing that’s beating
In fact, I’d love to say for all people trying to write a song fiction just take away the lyrics and put of the story. Most of them are good. The plots can be excellent, but the lyrics just pull the story down completely. Sometimes. Most of the time its just pure angst and crap and the author is just using the lyrics to try and grasp the connotations of their particular song of choice to make it better. I’ll clear this up, it doesn’t.
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
I’m sure you all are calling me crazy. In your favorite shows music and is used to create a good mood to the episode. Hey it happens, music paired with the characters’ actions and scenery really works wonders, it can help heighten the mood. However those are movies and shows. Stuff with pictures? You know what I’m talking about.
‘Til then I walk alone
The point of the previous paragraph was, to point out that you’ll need the pictures to get it right. Its extremely hard to add that heightened tone in prose like it is in shows or movies. Why? Because, in prose you only have the words, nothing else, and perhaps the hope that your beloved reader can pick up your message and picture everything in their minds as they read as you did when you type. That doesn’t work.
Ah ah ah aah ah ah ah
I can see you nodding your little heads out there. Right, right sure. Let me further the previous point of being unable to get your point across. You can’t be sure of anything when it comes to music. Sure in fandoms certain know ledges are expected to be shared. This does not, however, apply to music. Got it yet? You can’t be sure that your readers will even know what song you’re talking about. You can’t be sure if they don’t hate the song in question, ergo hating your story and maybe you for even liking the song. Or even that they even like the particular genre of music you like and can’t even understand those lyrics. And how in hell they relate to your story.
I’m walking down the line that divides me somewhere in my mind
Now then, to continue in a disjointed style that is this rant, authors hear the lyrics in their heads as they write because they are familiar with the song, they also know what everything is supposed to look like because they’re writing the story. They assume, mistakenly, that their read will know these lyrics, and well read their minds slightly. This is a sad error. It would be better if this is the only way the story can be done and can’t stand alone without the lyrics and how you visualize things to just make a fan music video. It’ll work better and everyone will get your point.
On the borderline met the edge and where I walk alone
Otherwise, if the story can stand alone without the lyrics, glean the lyrics from your story and put it as a header or footer before or after the chapter, like what is oft done with quotes and brief poems to hopefully cast a certain mood on the readers. Do this if you have embedded the lyrics into the narrative text. It will be much better.
Read between the lines what’s fucked up and everything’s all right
And if you chose to have your characters sing in the middle. Take the lyrics out, and make them a header or a footer and reference where the character(s) is(are) singing someway to indicate the lyrics. Forcing characters to sing with the lyrics in the story is sometimes awkward, but mostly annoying because this likens it to a musical. This is different then just having the character sing and describing the voice, not the lyrics.
Check my vital signs to know I’m still alive and I walk alone
If a story can live at all with out the lyrics, I implore you to remove them. This will make it just feel better and be a better story overall. Embedding lyrics into the narrative can be just plain annoying. And the winter Olympics will be held in hell before your basic anime characters will be hardcore fans of Evanescence and singing the songs or dancing to them or knowing them. I’m more will to bet they’ll be familiar with Jpop and Jrock bands and singing to those songs, not American songs.
I walk alone I walk alone
And if one were to change the lyrics of their favorite song to suit the fandom they write for, it’s called filking. I’ve yet to think badly of filking. So filk as much as you want to. Oh and its not half as bad if you ‘fic a song that’s used officially in the fandom you’re writing for, but please, refrain.
I walk alone I walk a...
In fact, I’m guaranteeing that you folks reading this are getting amply annoyed by my adding the “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” lyrics to this rant. That was just to proved how thoroughly irritating song fictions can be. And I’m sorry, not much wit today. I just wasn’t in the mood to put that much wit into the rant.
My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
(Don't hurt meh!)