Typescript posts a new challenge each Wednesday to encourage creativity and inspire conversation. Feel free to talk about the challenge or share your writing results in the comments section below by leaving an excerpt and/or a link to your own site or blog.

The spark of inspiration can be found anywhere you choose to look. From a title of a song to a sketch found on a napkin, these stories are waiting to be discovered and told.

Words and music are powerful forms of creativity because they both have the ability to evoke emotion, create an experience, and move you. Music speaks to the same part of our soul where our words come from, delving into a part of ourselves and calling forth sometimes stagnant emotion that can be then poured out onto the page. Sometimes, the music you’re listening to can shape the tone of your writing. A peppy pop ballad can make for an upbeat, feel-good story filled with humor and chaos. A slow ballad can cross boundaries and create melancholy and passion.

Song Titles
While the music itself can lend to inspiration, often the best lyrics tell a story full of character and plot of their own, with the song titles serving as prompts. Billy Joel writes about a “Pianoman;” Carrie Underwood wants to “Get Out of this Town.” Who is this pianoman? Why is she leaving and where is she going?

Like newspaper headlines and book titles, song titles are meant to catch your attention, intrigue you, convince you to listen. However, they can also serve as the point of inspiration for your next story or poem.

Pay attention when you listen to the radio or browse through the selections on iTunes. Your next story may be waiting in the music. What song titles serve as your inspiration?

Challenge: Take a look at your own collection or use some suggestions from my own playlist below to create a new short story or poem:

“Somewhere Only We Know” – Keane

“Praying For Time” – George Michaels/Carrie Underwood

“While My Guitar Gently Weeps” -The Beatles/Across the Universe Soundtrack

“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” -Keane

“I Owe You A Love Song” – Shiny Toy Guns

“It Became A Lie On You” – Shiny Toy Guns

“Five Minutes to Midnight” – Boys Like Girls

“Come Downstairs and Say Hello” – Guster

“Misery Business” – Paramore

“What’s Victoria’s Secret” – Rick Springfield