Writing a song as the hook
I am at the free-writing stages of writing my high fantasy novel. I am looking at or experimenting with different methods for hooking the reader and driving their attention towards the rest of my story. I am currently considering the idea using a song as the hook. What can I do as far as formatting goes to make sure that the song is read as a song and that the reader will at least consider being bothered enough to read the song lyrics before continuing on with the rest of the story?
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For some reason, when I read this question, my thoughts were immediately drawn to the book The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester. At one point in the classic science fiction story, the protagonist is introduced to a song's lyrics. The passage is quoted on a website with the same name as the song, Tenser, Said the Tensor:
Her fingers and palm slipped gracefully over the panel. A tune of utter monotony filled the room with agonizing, unforgettable banality. It was the quintessence of every melodic cliché Reich had ever heard. No matter what melody you tried to remember, it invariably led down the path of familiarity to "Tenser, Said The Tensor." Then Duffy began to sing:
Eight, sir; seven, sir;
Six, sir; five, sir;
Four, sir; three, sir;
Two, sir; one!
Tenser, said the Tensor.
Tenser, said the Tensor.
Tension, apprehension,
And dissension have begun."Oh my God!" Reich exclaimed.
Of course, different people have different tastes. But what makes this effective is not only how absurd it is—but that it's short and simple.
Speaking only personally, I more often than not find reading song lyrics more of a distraction than not, and will simply skip past them if they are extensive.
But sometimes, as in the case of this song, it has content that is either unusual enough or interesting enough that it doesn't just seem like "filler" to me.
So, I would suggest making the content of the song memorable, immediately relevant to the story itself in some way (if you can), and not necessarily have the lyrics go on for very long. For instance, you can describe the song as being lengthy and captivating, but still only provide part of it to the reader. (Although if you are particularly attached to the lyrics of the entire song, you could always provide it in full in an appendix.)
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I think this is a bad idea. I agree that you will be left with a poem, NOT a song, and if that is the case, open with a rhyming poem that reads like a poem and promises the reader something about the story. (The hook).
That might work.
I do use song in my stories, once or twice per story, but it is always in dialogue: Somebody trying to remind somebody else of a song, or quoting lyrics, or correcting somebody else's singing or quoting of lyrics. You cannot convey music in prose. Even if you wrote sheet music, very few could read that and mentally hear a tune. You can convey how it makes people feel, but I am convinced it will fall flat as music.
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