# Help me write a story!



## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

So, I've been working on a story for about 2 months, it's almost complete, but something is missing: the ending! I've been brainstorming how the ending is going to be, and some details need to be kneaded out. This is how things are:

There will be a confrontation of a certain lady toward a certain guy in the orchestra rehearsal room. There will be music in the background which is coming from the concert hall during a live performance, faintly through speakers. I don't know what piece that is going to be, but here are the characteristics I want: semi-long, something romantic, and erratic. It can either be in contrast or in comparison to the situation (that's a secret), it can end triumphantly _or _tragically. But I don't want the Romeo-Juliet fantasy overture, that's too trite. :lol: It's not a good situation, I will reveal. I was thinking of maybe a suite in multiple movements? Not a symphony or concerto.

So, any suggestions? If someone gives me a suggestion for a piece, I may actually use it! 

I'm leaning toward the Poem of Ecstasy by Scriabin, if that gives any clue of what I'm looking for. But I think it's slightly too long for what I want, and it can only be that long if its multi-movement.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

I would suggest something by Rachmaninov or Mahler.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

I would, seeming harsh, I suppose, earnestly suggest you find your own way in your own story.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

No, no. Writers consult people all the time. I think it's very cool.

If you want a longish romantic piece, perhaps in contrast to what is transpiring, here is a lesser known work by Leo Weiner, a little shorter than the Scriabin:






Okay, it sort of peters out rather than ends triumphantly

There's also the Vaughan-Williams Tallis Fantasia, but it's as long as the Scriabin and also not multi-movement. This is not easy.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Weston said:


> No, no. Writers consult people all the time. I think it's very cool.


Then the authoress needs to be far less coy and far more specific about the actual dynamic and specifics of the relationship in lieu of the request for the underscoring.

The Scriabin is delightfully zany, over the top, excessive in a good way, erratic, manic sounding, and since the story is a fiction, no realtime constrictions, I see no reason to not have that as the piece in the story.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Another - Sibelius this time. Still not a suite, but a little more tragic maybe..


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

The Planets Suite by Holst - then you will hear clapping in between each planet, and stormy or sweet pieces which could intensify what is going on between the couple, or stand in ironic contrast...


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Second thought, should've been first but we're music-centric here.

Your reader is likely to not know of the music you reference, even Holst's "planets." -- They are less than likely to stop, google it, find it on youtube, etc. ERGO: referring to an extant piece which may not be in the collective data banks of your readers, the optimal thing is to create, in words, a fictional piece which does exactly that which you want it to do. Give it a (fictional) composer and title, of course, and some descriptive writing, subjective, to _suggest_ the music to the reader, which then allows the reader to fill in that space exactly with what they think appropriate to what is going on.

Fictional piece, conceptually tailored to exactly your needs as the storyteller.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Mahler's 7th fits the description perfectly.


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## david johnson (Jun 25, 2007)

ruckert songs? hans rott sym 1? ...scott Joplin!!


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

PetrB said:


> Second thought, should've been first but we're music-centric here.
> 
> Your reader is likely to not know of the music you reference, even Holst's "planets." -- They are less than likely to stop, google it, find it on youtube, etc. ERGO: referring to an extant piece which may not be in the collective data banks of your readers, the optimal thing is to create, in words, a fictional piece which does exactly that which you want it to do. Give it a (fictional) composer and title, of course, and some descriptive writing, subjective, to _suggest_ the music to the reader, which then allows the reader to fill in that space exactly with what they think appropriate to what is going on.
> 
> Fictional piece, conceptually tailored to exactly your needs as the storyteller.


That's one idea. However, what's happening in the immediate scene IS a fictional piece composed by a student composer. So, I would hope it could be a real piece in the scene prior to that. I like to tie real music into my stories, sometimes even a particular work is central to the whole thing. That didn't happen with this story anyhow, I was more broad in the musical suggestions.

Also, I didn't really plan out an "audience," I'm pretty sure some of my musical suggestions are things that most haven't heard of, however, I put scenes in the story of people listening to certain pieces of music for the _first _time, expressing their emotions, impressions.

Mahler, Sibelius and Rachmaninoff, ok, I'm thinking about those...

I'm glad some people actually thought of stuff, I was afraid this thread would be forgotten because people wouldn't know how to answer it. I made my standards rather particular.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Weston said:


> Another - Sibelius this time. Still not a suite, but a little more tragic maybe..


Bingo! I think this is what the _guy _will be performing before the scene... then his 2 friends will be performing other things in the meantime before he goes out to conduct the student composition...


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Wow! I feel very honored. I hope it works out well for you. You might keep an open mind for other suggestions too if something better comes along.


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## Andreas (Apr 27, 2012)

Will the reader know the piece? To be able to make sense of it? Or should it make sense entirely within the context of the story? A suggestive title alone might set a specific mood (certainly like the Poem of Ecstasy which you had in mind) without having to know the actual music.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Andreas said:


> Will the reader know the piece? To be able to make sense of it? Or should it make sense entirely within the context of the story? A suggestive title alone might set a specific mood (certainly like the Poem of Ecstasy which you had in mind) without having to know the actual music.


It depends... I didn't really plan an audience. They may or may not be classical music fans. Really what I was trying to do was draw attention to the various pieces so that the reader would say to his/herself "I should go look that up" if they don't know the piece already.

My prediction is that I will be finished in 2-3 weeks, editing and all, although I often edit many many times after initial editing. By then, I can post the chapters HERE in my blog if anyone likes. I mean seriously, you guys might be the only kind of people to really appreciate what I'm about to go into: I've delved into the mind of an ambitious musician.


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