Tag: writing

Looking Forward: Writer to Writer

Lucy Freeman Leave a comment

Hey arts, ink readers!

I hope exam season is treating you well and you’re finding ways for self-care in the midst of all of it. This week, I spoke with Aylin Gunal, Editor-in-Chief for Writer-to-Writer. I asked her about the publication, how the organization has adjusted to this semester, how she perceives creativity on campus this semester, and how students can get involved. It was a wonderful conversation I’m excited to share with you all!

If you don’t already know, Writer to Writer is a student publication that began in the Minor in Writing program. The twice-yearly collection is open to students across campus and encourages multi-modal writing submissions (videos, photo essays, etc.). The organization’s staff is made up of students, many of whom are in the Minor in Writing program, though others are welcome. 

Thanks to technology, not a ton has changed for Writer to Writer this semester. Aylin told me that they’ve been pretty successful adjusting their regular programming to be online, including their weekly meetings. Additionally, they’ve begun to incorporate more events like writer’s workshops, which have served as community-builders within the organization. This has been especially important, as Aylin realized how valuable the small chat before meetings and between discussions was once it was significantly reduced due to zoom. In order to address this, they’ve been incorporating more intentional community-building activities this semester, including a minor-wide book exchange for the holiday season! Although it’s not quite the same as hanging out in North Quad every week, it’s a way for writers to expand their skills and make friends during this crazy year. 

When I asked Aylin how she saw creativity on campus adjusting this semester, she told me that she really missed the chance encounters that being on campus in typical semesters allows. You can walk through the Diag and see a group of students playing handmade instruments, pass the art museum and see a new exhibit, or walk by a pillar filled with fliers and learn about an acapella concert happening that weekend. Now, the information you get is much more based on following the right people or being on the right newsletters, which can limit what you’re exposed to. Hopefully, however, we find ways to bring some of these simple reminders of “normalcy” back to campus next semester. 

If you’re interested in getting involved with Writer to Writer, you can submit your work to their blog or publication here. If you’re interested in being on the staff, you can email writer-to-writer@umich.edu and attend the next weekly meeting. You can also stay up to date with their activities, including a soon-to-be-announced campus-wide writing competition, by following their Facebook or Instagram pages. 

That’s all from me this week! Good luck to everyone on finals and remember to take some time to take care of yourself! I’ll technically be on hiatus until classes return but keep an eye out… you may get a special post or two 🙂

-Lucy

What is a Hook?

Josie Faith Leave a comment

This week’s post is going to be a bit more informational than creative. As I’ve been messing around with my own music in the past few months, I’ve been trying to experiment with a specific aspect of my songs: the hook. Though ‘the hook’ is usually singular when people talk about it in reference to songwriting, in all honesty a song can have one, three, four, or fifteen hooks depending on what the artist is going for.

But what does this term mean? Why is it so important?

Most people associate the hook with a song’s chorus. This can be true, but it isn’t always the case. Examples of hook-y choruses can be found in many modern pop songs–these are the ones you hear on the radio and for some reason can’t get that one line out of your head. Hint: that’s probably a hook. A classic for me growing up was “We are Never Ever Getting Back Together” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA4iX5D9Z64 ) by Taylor Swift. The “never ever ever ever”s repeat multiple times throughout the song and stick in your head for hours after listening to it. They’re interesting and memorable enough where the song becomes something you want to listen to again. They’re also relatable for many teenagers who’ve gone through similar situations to the one Swift is describing in her lyrics. This is crucial for a lyrical hook.

But hooks don’t have to be lyrical. There are musical and rhythmic hooks as well.

A great example of a musical/rhythmic hook is the classic Queen song “Another One Bites the Dust.” Though I could not repeat the lyrics back to you word for word, I can immediately identify this song if it comes on in a restaurant or supermarket or wherever else. The bass line is iconic and functions as a hook within itself. It is recognizable, reproducible, and helps a listener identify the song within seconds. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVIbCvfkO3E ) Other examples of songs with rhythmic or musical hooks include: “Sweet Caroline,” (BUH BUH BUH) and “Mamma Mia.” These both have specific musical passages which are catchy and memorable.

Hooks can be produced with percussive beats as well. The best example I can think of off the top of my head is “We Will Rock You.” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tJYN-eG1zk ) There’s a reason Queen is such a successful music group. Their hooks–lyrical, melodic, rhythmic–are all fire. Each song stands apart from the others in a good way and is interesting within itself.

Many record labels encourage artists to focus on adding multiple hooks to a song. Lyrical hooks are the first step–you need words which people will relate with and catch themselves singing on their way to work. But the other types of hooks are just as, if not more, important. They are the small musical passages which will have a song stuck in someone’s head even when they don’t know the words. They’re not quite sure when they even heard the song, but because of the different hooks at play, it will be hard for them to forget it.

A Song for a Step Forward

Josie Faith 1 Comment

A song I wrote for election week and some of the emotions I’ve observed in the past few days:

 

Verse

Weatherman said the forecast was looking cloudy
and I think it’d be safe to say that that’s been true
every word said had we the people doubting
if this was a week which we could all get through

Verse

All got out of bed on Tuesday with a purpose
then the waiting began to see who’d win and lose
each woman, man, other identifying person
was holding their breath their eyes fixed to the news

Pre-Chorus

and it took a few more days than we’d have liked
had our fingers crossed that things would turn out right

Chorus

This is a song for a step forward
a song for brand new days
I know not everyone’s happy
with the decision that’s been made
but this is it, this is now
we’ve got a woman in the white house
history is being made in front of our eyes
what crazy times for us to be alive

Verse

for now the united states still stands pretty divided
but the president elect isn’t only just for blue
to stand for all America, he’s decided
red, blue, him, her, we, them, me, or you

Pre-Chorus

and it took a few more days than we’d have liked
to learn what we hoped to know last Tuesday night

Chorus

But this is a song for a step forward
a song for brand new days
I know not everyone’s happy
with the decision that’s been made
but this is it, this is now
we’ve got a woman in the white house
history is being made in front of our eyes
what crazy times for us to be alive

Bridge

we the people of this country
face the end of a 4 year age
it’s been educational
but we’re turning the page
raise the flag

Half-Chorus

This is a song for a step forward
a song for brand new days
I know not everyone’s happy
but the decision has been made

Chorus

This is a song for a step forward
a song for brand new days
I know not everyone’s happy
with the decision that’s been made
but this is it, this is now
we’ve got a woman in the white house
history is being made in front of our eyes
what crazy times for us to be alive

Outro

what crazy times for us to be alive

 

waves: walking

smitty 2 Comments

another thing i really enjoy writing about is connection. and while this is a very broad topic that tons of people enjoy writing about, and many people in general strive to understand, it still has its interesting aspects. there’s so many ways to approach understanding connections, and we can find ways to translate these methods and processes of thought over to many (if not, all) other displays of connection that are seemingly unrelated.

i’ve realized that i often times glorify perfect human connection, and this forces me to neglect entire aspects of my relationship with another person, work of art, myself, etc. i often times try to assign blame to myself, the other person, or both for the flaws that exist in the relationship, when in reality, trying to foster perfect connection is virtually impossible. we can get lucky in our lives and find people we “click” with, or overcome obstacles in our relationships that enables them to grow for the better, but what does it really mean to connect?

i feel that a connection isn’t just about similarities, but it’s also about the ways in which you challenge them and they challenge you; butting heads, trying to get past each other’s walls, the things we empathize with and the things we could never understand. it’s becoming increasingly interesting to think about in the context of 2020, and the ways in which i think about the people, institutions and systems (created by people) that harm people with my identities.

anyway — that’s all a part of it. that’s why i believe there are infinite ways to connect with someone or something. this concept gave way to this poem, in which i approach my relationship with my mom from a place i never have before with a experiences that i’ve ever thought about deeply until recently.

taken in the law quad last year. by me.

~~~~~~

the cramps come dance on my mama’s legs at night

setting light in her thighs, she stomps them out in the hallway.

 

when the cramps throw a dagger at her, my door flies 

open. the bat signal we negotiated with having said nothing. 

 

my hands pressure the bed. my hands, a servant to thee.

i came running from the shadows, the forest of my dreams

 

to hook my arm in yours in this hallway drenched in drowsy silhouettes and walk.

i pledge to rid the body of all that is wrong right next to you. 

 

this is how i’ve figured to give my love to thee:

one, two, and—if needed—another step times three. 

 

walking

waves: blacklight

smitty 2 Comments
photo cred: me. in my apartment with my partner.

{trigger warning: childhood illness}

this whole year has brought about many hours of reflection for me and my life. one thing i’ve been thinking about a lot and trying to process is my experience as a cancer survivor. i was diagnosed with stage 4 hodgkin’s lymphoma at 16 years old (my junior year of high school). while i’m in remission now, the trauma i have tied to that experience is something that comes up again and again — especially during something as stressful as a global pandemic. the precautions i take to protect myself and others from the virus (like wearing masks, washing my hands often, disinfecting everything i come in contact with) feels eerily similar to the precautions i had to take while protecting myself from infections while being treated with chemotherapy and radiation.

i don’t talk much about my experiences, and part of the reason for that is because, well, it isn’t pretty. having cancer, being treated for it, fearing that it will come back, and having a deadly virus going around that only intensifies my anxiety isn’t something i can talk about in a few minutes or hours and be done with. i think about it all the time. and i take the pandemic very seriously mostly because of my fears.

i just wanted to let anyone who is struggling with processing or navigating this pandemic know that they are not alone, and things REALLY suck at the moment and it’s okay to acknowledge that. it’s okay to not be okay, and it’s okay to fear the uncertain future ahead of all of us. it’s okay to talk through your feelings with people you love andcare about, including yourself. this poem, ‘blacklight’, is one of my many attempts to do so. fun fact: this is a contrapuntal poem, which means that it can be read in at least two different ways 😉

~~~~~~

 

that moment when you look                                                                            your eyes don’t adjust to the darkness

        it’s just dark                                                                                                             and thick wet black

        and i tell everyone i know it’s just my shadow                                          it’s just the back of the throat, i say

        and they believe me                                                                                           and no one asks further questions

        but i’ve been trying to figure out,                                                                                  like,

 

 

how do i come to terms with the tumors growing in my body?

how long have they been there?

was there a such thing as light before the universe?

did darkness come from a wounded womb?

has anyone found its keyholed belly?

 

blacklight 

 

Can’t say it? Sing it. (#1)

Josie Faith Leave a comment

Hello, world. Or hello, Michigan. Really just hello to whomever happens to be reading this. My name is Josie, I’m a current senior at UMich studying English and Spanish with a minor in music, and this is a weekly glimpse into the chaos of my mind.

As to why I am writing on arts, ink:

For as long as I can remember I have been most easily able to express myself through written words. I’ve been anavid reader and writer since I was about six years old, and have taken my passion for writing in many directions since then. Poetry, prose, forensics, stage, and screen acting are all avenues I’ve pursued in some way, shape, or form throughout the last fifteen years or so of my life. However, from very early on, one particular way of expressing myself fought its way to the top of my list of passions.

Songwriting.

I first picked up a guitar at age 8 after 4 years of piano lessons. Within a few months, I wrote my first song–a simple 3-chord children’s song I called “Sun is Shining.” (My mom still whistles it while she does house work and such sometimes). From that moment on, I was hooked. I was never a diary kid. I didn’t see the point in writing all my feelings down on a page that no one would ever read except me. So instead, my guitar became my notebook, and my lyrics became my diary. I wrote about what moved me, the things which made me feel emotions strong enough to need to sing about, and people I met along the road of life who helped to change me in some significant way.

 (9-year-old me)

When I was feeling lost in middle school, I wrote a song called “The Road to Nowhere.” When I was facing challenges in high school I wrote a song called “Wings” whose chorus read “I will take my wings / and I will learn to fly / so if I ever fall / I’ll fall knowing that I tried.”

(The picture below is from a small concert I gave at a local sub station where I played a few of my original songs for the first time. It was one of the moments I can remember which solidified in my mind that music was the one thing which could make me truly happy.)

I wouldn’t be an angsty young adult if I hadn’t written some sappy young love songs too. My relationships have forever been immortalized in the words of an embarrassingly long Word document of songs on my computer.

But why is music so important to me?

In the words of the introduction to the book I wrote on musical role-modeling in high school, “Music has gotten me through the good times, the bad times, the horrible times, and all the times in-between. It’s been something I can fall back on when life gets hard, and it’s led me to some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met, and I’ll ever know. It’s created opportunities for me of which I wouldn’t have had otherwise, and has always managed to put a smile on my face. It’s a part of me I wouldn’t trade for the world. Music nurtures, it teaches, and it grows inside a person until it’s an irremovable part of you. It allows you to believe more firmly in yourself, and helps explain so many situations of which you otherwise couldn’t explain. It’s a feeling you get deep inside—a joy of sorts that reassures you no matter how bad things may seem—how sad the song—those things will resolve. They’ll end on a happy note.”

My biggest role model growing up was my choir director in high school, Mr. Brusubardis. He was famous in our Wisconsin small town for saying really deep, intelligent things to his students. In fact, somewhere I still have a poster my friends and I made my senior year of our favorite quotes of his. But the one thing I remember him saying constantly was that music is a universal language. You can sing in English, Spanish, Greek, Yiddish, or complete nonsense syllables, and people will be able to understand what you’re trying to tell them through the emotion you put into the performance. In many cases, you don’t have to know which are the ‘right’ words to sing when you perform a song. You don’t have to spend hours painstakingly picking out the perfect words; you can just let go, be in the moment, and share what you feel inside with other people. Even if they cannot literally understand you, they will emotionally.

Because of this fact, I would like to welcome you to my 2020/2021 arts, ink blog: Can’t say it? Sing it. 

I’ll be posting about the songwriting process, sharing some of my own work, perhaps featuring other writers I know, and doing my best to relay meaningful information about music I’ve had the pleasure of learning in the last few years of my life.

I had the opportunity to work and learn within SMTD as a voice major my freshman year before switching to a music minor, have done workshops and masterclasses with relatively well-known musicians, and have spent over 12 years now crafting my own personal songwriting style. I also have participated in choral groups, 20+ musical theatre productions, and Michigan A Cappella for 4 years now. I’d be happy to answer any questions about any of my experiences!

Thanks for taking the time to read my slightly-long-winded introduction, and I look forward to posting in the weeks to come!