My kids and their friends have been watching High School Musical 3 since the DVD release. It’s probably my fault since I refused to take them to see this movie and payback…well, let’s say I’ve paid my due. Not only have I watched/listened to this movie, but my children (and their friends) have amused me with re-enactments of various scenes. Our household is one big musical and yes, it is fun.
However, I hated the commercialism surrounding the movie. With that said, I have to admit, the marketing move was perhaps brilliant with fantastic name branding, consistent main characters, fun choreographed song and dance, and a dedicated following that spread the word faster than a telephone game, but with pinpoint accuracy.
Which made me realize that this applies to our writing. Not that our characters’ lives should be a musical, though, it would be satisfying to be able to burst out in song and dance in a moment’s notice. I’m thinking more of how we can add the layers of emotion and other little touches that help the reader identify with the characters and actively participate in the story.
I’ll be writing about EMOTION in the next few posts and I hope you’ll join me as I explore how to add the song and dance to our writing.
The only problem is I have to figure out how to get this one song from the movie out of my mind. If you dare, watch it on the video below. The first song is oh, so entertaining–there are two versions in the first 5 minutes of this video. (Note: If you’re not interested in spoilers, this shows a pivotal scene in the movie)
In case you’re looking for a Writing Exercise: Watch the exaggerated motions and dramatics and see if you can capture it in your writing.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm1uEmmkFvg&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0]
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