When my kids are being really loud in the car, maybe bickering or just being intentionally obnoxious, I make them listen to my music instead of more kid friendly entertainment I usually suffer through. Sometimes when they have kindled my wrath I just flick on the radio but usually we listen to musicals. For the past few weeks we’ve been listening to WICKED. And because my kids have been particularly ornery recently, we’ve been listening to A LOT of WICKED.
As I’ve listened to this score approximately a bazillion times I realized something—the story of WICKED could easily be rearranged to tell the story of a writer. With just a few title changes and TONS of imagination this classic musical has transformed, in my mind, into a new musical.
Please bear with me as I take you through my new and not really improved (just different) musical: WRITER.
*No One Mourns the Writer (No One Mourns the Wicked)
How does everyone’s writing dreams start? With a love for writing—for creating. But even before you put pen to paper or fingertips to keys, there are always those naysayers who try to tell you that writing is not a good career—that you’ll never make it—that you aren’t good enough. (Yes, I messed with some of the lyrics of these songs)
Yes, goodness knows,
writers’ lives are lonely.
And goodness knows,
Writers cry alone.
Nothing is easy for the writer,
They reap only what they’ve sown.
My Agent and I (The Wizard and I)
At some point, you realized that you might have a talent for writing. This song is about fantasizing about following your dream (and succeeding).
Did that really just happen?
Have I actually understood?
This weird quirk I’ve tried
To suppress or hide
Is a talent that could
Help me get an Agent
If I make good
So I’ll make good
When I get an agent,
Once I prove my worth,
And then I’ll get an agent
What I’ve waited for since,
Since birth!
And with all his agent-y wisdom,
By my looks, he won’t be blinded
Do you think the agent is dumb?
Or, like teenagers, so small-minded?
No!
He’ll say to me,
“I see who you truly are –
A girl on whom I can rely!”
And that’s how we’ll begin
My agent and I:
Once I’m with an agent
My whole life will change
‘Cuz once you’re with an agent
No one thinks you’re strange!
No father is not proud of you,
No sister acts ashamed
Everyone has to love you
When by an agent, you’re acclaimed
And this gift or this curse
I have inside
Maybe at last, I’ll know why
When we are hand in hand –
My agent and I!
Dancing through a Draft (Dancing Through Life)
Writing your first draft– the fun, the euphoria, the overwhelming feeling that you have this whole thing figured out.
Dancing through a draft
Skimming the surface
Gliding where the plot is smooth
The story’s more painless
For the brainless
Why think too hard?
When it’s so soothing
Dancing through a draft
No need to tough it
When you can sluff it off as I do
Nothing matters
But knowing nothing matters
It’s just draft
So keep dancing through…
What Is This Feeling
Reading that first draft and realizing…you just might be a fraud.
What is this feeling,
So sudden and new?
I felt the moment
I laid eyes on you.
My pulse is rushing,
My head is reeling,
My face is flushing.
What is this feeling?
Fervid as a flame,
Does it have a name?
Yes!
Loathing.
Unadulterated loathing.
For your plot,
Your voice,
Your prosing.
Let’s just say – I loathe it all!
Every little error however small
Makes my very flesh begin to crawl
With simple utter loathing.
There’s a strange exhilaration
In such total detestation
It’s so pure, so strong.
Though I do admit it came on fast,
Still I do believe that it can last.
And I will be loathing, loathing you
My whole life long!
Popular
Finding your perfect critique group.
Popular!
You’re gonna be popular!
I’ll teach you the proper ways
To give advice and praise
Little ways to tweak your prose
I’ll show you what websites to visit
How to write your kisses
All my secrets I’ll disclose
To be popular!
I’ll help you be popular!
You’ll hang with the right cohorts
You’ll get lots of support
Know the slang you’ve got to know
So let’s start
‘Cause you’ve got an awfully long way to go…
Don’t be offended by my frank analysis
Think of it as manuscript dialysis
Now that I’ve chosen to become a pal, a sis-
Ter and adviser
There’s nobody wiser
Not when it comes to popular—
I know about popular
And with an assist from me
To be who you’ll be
Instead of dreary who-you-were… or are…
There’s nothing that can stop you
From becoming populer—lar…
Defying Gravity
Deciding it is time—you are going to put yourself out there and query. Can’t change too much in this song. It is perfect as is!
Something has changed within me
Something is not the same
I’m through with playing by the rules
Of someone else’s game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It’s time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes and leap!
It’s time to try
Defying gravity
I think I’ll try
Defying gravity
And you can’t pull me down!
I’m through accepting limits
’cause someone says they’re so
Some things I cannot change
But till I try, I’ll never know!
Too long I’ve been afraid of
Losing love I guess I’ve lost
Well, if that’s love
It comes at much too high a cost!
I’d sooner buy
Defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye
I’m defying gravity
And you can’t pull me down
I’m Not That Girl
REJECTION. It is inevitable. You take that leap and put yourself out there and at some point you will face rejection.
Don’t dream too far
Don’t lose sight of who you are
Don’t remember that rush of joy
He could be that boy
I’m not that girl
Ev’ry so often we long to steal
To the land of what-might-have-been
But that doesn’t soften the ache we feel
When reality sets back in
Don’t wish, don’t start
Wishing only wounds the heart*
I wasn’t born for the rose and the pearl
There’s a girl I know
He loves her so
I’m not that girl…
*Love that line!
One Short Day
Writers’ conference!! It really is a little like taking a trip to the Emerald City.
ONE SHORT DAY
IN A NEW CITY
ONE SHORT DAY
FULL OF SO MUCH TO DO
EV’RY WAY
THAT YOU LOOK IN THIS CITY
THERE’S SOMETHING EXQUISITE
YOU’LL WANT TO VISIT
BEFORE THE DAY’S THROUGH!
THERE ARE AUTHOR THAT YOU’D LOVE TO MEET
LESSONS ON WRITING
FOOD TO EAT
PITCHES
AGENTS
WRITERS- A HUNDRED STRONG …
THERE ARE WONDERS LIKE I’VE NEVER SEEN
IT’S ALL GRAND
AND IT’S ALL KEEN
I THINK WE’VE FOUND THE PLACE WHERE WE BELONG!
Wonderful
Finding someone who believes in you (agent, publisher or readers) and your story and finally reaching the dream of publication.
Wonderful
They called me “Wonderful”
So I said “Wonderful” – if you insist
I will be “Wonderful”
And they said “Wonderful”
Believe me, it’s hard to resist
‘Cause it feels wonderful
They think I’m wonderful
Hey, look who’s wonderful!
Thank Goodness
The surreal feeling when you finally reach your goal, you are published, and then life continues on and you realize that as wonderful as achieving your dreams is—it is not a destination.
That’s why I couldn’t be happier
No, I couldn’t be happier
Though it is, I admit
The tiniest bit
Unlike I anticipated
But I couldn’t be happier
Simply couldn’t be happier
(spoken) Well – not “simply”:
(sung) ‘Cause getting your dreams
It’s strange, but it seems
A little – well – complicated
There’s a kind of a sort of : cost
There’s a couple of things get: lost
There are bridges you cross
You didn’t know you crossed
Until you’ve crossed
And if that joy, that thrill
Doesn’t thrill you like you think it will
Still –
With this perfect finale
The cheers in the valley, who
Who
Wouldn’t be happier?
So I couldn’t be happier
Because happy is what happens
When all your dreams come true
Well, isn’t it?
Happy is what happens
When your dreams come true!
No Good Deed
There are always critics! Even with all the ups there are also downs in this job. Between struggling sales, bad reviews or less than favorable blog posts—sometimes it feels like all your hard work is for nothing.
No good deed goes unpunished
No act of creativity goes unresented
No good deed goes unpunished
That’s my new creed
My road of good intentions
Led where such roads always lead
No good deed
Goes unpunished!
For Good
In the end—it is all worth it. All the hard work, the ups and downs, the wonderful relationships you build through the process of writing a book—it is all For Good.
I’ve heard it said,
That people come into our lives
For a reason
Bringing something we must learn.
And we are led to those
Who help us most to grow if we let them.
And we help them in return.
Well, I don’t know if I believe that’s true
But I know I’m who I am today
Because I knew you.
Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun,
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood.
Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better
But because I knew you.
I have been changed for good.
So–did you enjoy my new musical? It might not be the next Broadway hit, but I sure had fun thinking through those songs while forcing my kids to listen to my music. Hope you enjoyed it too. Any songs that represent how you feel about writing? Let me know in the comments!
I sang my entire way through that post. I can see where you are coming from, though. It made me smile.
PS LOOOOVE this musical.