Music. It's a beautiful thing. I use it constantly when I write. I think creativity begets creativity. I often listen to certain songs when I am writing scenes that require emotion that I may not be feeling at that time. I may be deliriously happy and yet I need to write a tremendously sad scene. Or vice versa. The point is that we can create an emotional summary of a story through music.
Duke Special has been my special duke friend this time around. His songs are so beautiful and so layered that they add a lot to my writing experience. Other favorites are Chris Isaak, Kate Rusby, Travis, Johnny Boyd (Indigo Swing), Muse, and She & Him.
In the original version of this story (The Mysteries of Udolpho) the heroine, would-be hero, and the heroine's father all break out in prose, reciting poetry at every leaf, flower, and sunrise. It's...unusual. So if I were to update that theory in my adaptation, the following songs would be what the character's inner thoughts would reveal if they were just to break out into song the way Radcliffe's characters recite prose with abandon. However I don't plan to have them sing in my story so they can do it here and I won't mock them for it.
I usually do this in my head or I utilize my sidebars but I was feeling ambitious today. So here is a cliff notes version of Amelia Rider in 23 songs or less.
Edward sees Amelia sitting on the plane. They meet on the way to Italy where Amelia and her father are traveling and Edward is doing a study abroad. They make plans to meet up again but forget to exchange contact information.
Duke Special
Slip of a Girl
A short response from innocent Amelia.
Johnny Boyd
I Like the Likes of You
Edward is smitten.
Muse
Can't Take My Eyes Off You
Amelia's father, Adrian, dies while on vacation and only six months after Amelia's mother. Her grief is acute and overwhelming.
Kate Rusby
Bold Riley
Since Amelia is now parentless and still legally a minor, her Aunt Cristabelle comes to take possession of the girl. Cristabelle's adventurer friend turned husband, Victor, takes Cristabelle and Amelia to Botswana for a business opportunity. Amelia will be eighteen in two weeks and plans to return to the U.S. the first flight back after her birthday. Edward and Amelia miss each other but plan to see each other soon.
Jason Mraz and Colbie Calliat
Lucky
Edward hears nothing from Amelia but he still plans to see her just after her eighteenth birthday.
Kate Rusby
You Belong to Me
Her birthday comes and goes and there is still no word from Amelia. Edward is starting to feel the distance. Confusion from lack of communication sets in.
BJ (Your Call Cover)
Secondhand Serenade
Edward has come to the conclusion that Amelia has found new adventures in Botswana and that she has left him behind. He is mostly convinced but not entirely.
My favorite line:
To keep her caged would just delay the spring.
Travis
Cage
In truth, Amelia is no longer in Botswana. They were only there for a few days before Victor hires a guide, Donovan Grey, to take them to the lawless country of Zimbabwe. Victor confiscates Amelia's passport and cell phone and imprisons her and Cristabelle at a compound where he sets up a business plundering the natural resources of the country.
I don't have any songs to describe Victor's motivations toward Amelia. Essentially he wants Cristabelle's money. After six months she dies, never having changed her will, so Amelia is still her heiress, which makes her very desirable to Victor...in all ways.
If Amelia experienced an awakening of the world around her on her trip to Italy, she is now being clubbed over the head with it.
This next song is twisted. It almost starts out like a lullaby and then descends to such depths of depravity that it is hard to believe it is all in one song. This describes Finley's feelings toward Amelia. He is Victor's nephew and much closer in age to our heroine. However, his tastes are not what they ought to be. Unfortunately for our heroine she has a very complicated relationship with Finley as he spares her from injury almost as many times as he tries to inflict it himself.
Elvis Costello
I Want You
This is Finley's admission of who he is himself. He knows he is on a collision course but he enjoys it enough to keep going.
Duke Special
Diggin' an Early Grave
Amelia knows he is not good but she has no one else to rely on to keep Victor at bay. Thus Finley is a devil in disguise.
Chris Isaak and LeAnn Rimes
Devil in Disguise
After Amelia fends off the advances of Victor one too many times he throws in her a cell at the compound. Her neighbor is singing and she and he make a friendship. Eventually she discovers that it is Donovan Grey. He's been there for a year and half since they first came to Zimbabwe. They spend three months in confinement where Finley can no longer protect her and Victor can do what he wants with Amelia - which Donovan can hear but not stop.
The compound comes under attack again and a cell wall is blown away.
After Amelia and Donovan escape, Finely catches up to them. Hijinks ensue. Amelia attacks him, Donovan knocks him out and they escape. Goodbye is for Finley. (I guess I could have used their other song about I don't want to be your friend again but I just love goodbye.)
Goodbye
Save Ferris
Amelia and Donovan eventually cross back into Botswana and go to the consulate. It's April 1st but it's not a joke.
Donovan, who is Australian, and Amelia are sent back to their respective countries.
When Amelia returns home she hears that Edward has been around looking for her. She spent so much time over the last year and a half trying to survive the assaults of two villians that she never thought about Edward's heartbreak. She just thought about her own. This is Amelia's thoughts toward Edward. This video is a story in and of itself but I couldn't resist.
Duke Special
Portrait
Early in the original story St. Aubert (Adrian) remarks that Valancourt (Edward) is a nice young man but he has never seen Paris. It's like saying Edward has never seen the temptations of Vegas. Well, while Amelia is gone Edward takes some of her last words to care for Grace (who is like her grandmother) literally which leads him into financial straits. He falls into a gambling ring and runs up debts which cause him to quit school and get two jobs. Here is Edward's take on himself and what that choice cost him.
Sanford Clark
The Fool
Amelia is broken-hearted to hear that he has turned out so bad. Are there no good, worthy, honorable men, she wonders. This next song is a great representation of a broken heart.
She & Him
Sentimental Heart
At home, she sees things from her travels to Italy that reminds her of Edward and how innocent their first connection was. The reminders are painful. Take it away Ben!
Ben E. King
Don't Play That Song
Adrian was a botanist who had greenhouses on his property which have since fallen into a mass of weeds and dead plants. Amelia is distressed as she looks at yet another thing that was robbed from her by her imprisonment. This next song comes as Amelia takes out her anger and frustration in one of the green houses. Amidst the destruction she finds a bulb that has survived two years of neglect and nature. Amelia's hope is reflected here and she is able to turn a corner.
Travis
Safe
This is the beginning of Edward's path to repentance toward Amelia.
EdVedd (Hoobastank Cover)
The Reason
Edward leaves the issue to Amelia.
Travis
Only Molly Knows
He comes back to Caledonia (which is the town where Amelia lives and both opens and closes the book) to reassert his repentance.
Paolo Nutini
Caledonia
Amelia's response mirrors that of the woman in Duke Special's next song. "No, our love goes deeper than this."
Duke Special
Our Love Goes Deeper Than This
I love the beauty of this song and it highlights the scene where Edward and Amelia can lay it all out.
Duke Special
Love is a Series of Scars
Kate's song, Radio Sweethearts, sums the story up nicely. It takes the vantage point of several years later. (Technically in the song they are dead but...)
Kate Rusby
Radio Sweethearts
One of the main points of the original story is that Amelia's sensibility gets away from her and she envisions all kinds of crazy spectral extras. As you may have noticed from the songs, taking out all of the mysteries in my adaptation allows me to interpret the story in a more literal way. I'm off to write.
Feeling the itch? Create your own story through music and then send me the link.
Duke Special has been my special duke friend this time around. His songs are so beautiful and so layered that they add a lot to my writing experience. Other favorites are Chris Isaak, Kate Rusby, Travis, Johnny Boyd (Indigo Swing), Muse, and She & Him.
In the original version of this story (The Mysteries of Udolpho) the heroine, would-be hero, and the heroine's father all break out in prose, reciting poetry at every leaf, flower, and sunrise. It's...unusual. So if I were to update that theory in my adaptation, the following songs would be what the character's inner thoughts would reveal if they were just to break out into song the way Radcliffe's characters recite prose with abandon. However I don't plan to have them sing in my story so they can do it here and I won't mock them for it.
I usually do this in my head or I utilize my sidebars but I was feeling ambitious today. So here is a cliff notes version of Amelia Rider in 23 songs or less.
Edward sees Amelia sitting on the plane. They meet on the way to Italy where Amelia and her father are traveling and Edward is doing a study abroad. They make plans to meet up again but forget to exchange contact information.
Duke Special
Slip of a Girl
A short response from innocent Amelia.
Johnny Boyd
I Like the Likes of You
Edward is smitten.
Muse
Can't Take My Eyes Off You
Amelia's father, Adrian, dies while on vacation and only six months after Amelia's mother. Her grief is acute and overwhelming.
Kate Rusby
Bold Riley
Since Amelia is now parentless and still legally a minor, her Aunt Cristabelle comes to take possession of the girl. Cristabelle's adventurer friend turned husband, Victor, takes Cristabelle and Amelia to Botswana for a business opportunity. Amelia will be eighteen in two weeks and plans to return to the U.S. the first flight back after her birthday. Edward and Amelia miss each other but plan to see each other soon.
Jason Mraz and Colbie Calliat
Lucky
Edward hears nothing from Amelia but he still plans to see her just after her eighteenth birthday.
Kate Rusby
You Belong to Me
Her birthday comes and goes and there is still no word from Amelia. Edward is starting to feel the distance. Confusion from lack of communication sets in.
BJ (Your Call Cover)
Secondhand Serenade
Edward has come to the conclusion that Amelia has found new adventures in Botswana and that she has left him behind. He is mostly convinced but not entirely.
My favorite line:
To keep her caged would just delay the spring.
Travis
Cage
In truth, Amelia is no longer in Botswana. They were only there for a few days before Victor hires a guide, Donovan Grey, to take them to the lawless country of Zimbabwe. Victor confiscates Amelia's passport and cell phone and imprisons her and Cristabelle at a compound where he sets up a business plundering the natural resources of the country.
I don't have any songs to describe Victor's motivations toward Amelia. Essentially he wants Cristabelle's money. After six months she dies, never having changed her will, so Amelia is still her heiress, which makes her very desirable to Victor...in all ways.
If Amelia experienced an awakening of the world around her on her trip to Italy, she is now being clubbed over the head with it.
This next song is twisted. It almost starts out like a lullaby and then descends to such depths of depravity that it is hard to believe it is all in one song. This describes Finley's feelings toward Amelia. He is Victor's nephew and much closer in age to our heroine. However, his tastes are not what they ought to be. Unfortunately for our heroine she has a very complicated relationship with Finley as he spares her from injury almost as many times as he tries to inflict it himself.
Elvis Costello
I Want You
This is Finley's admission of who he is himself. He knows he is on a collision course but he enjoys it enough to keep going.
Duke Special
Diggin' an Early Grave
Amelia knows he is not good but she has no one else to rely on to keep Victor at bay. Thus Finley is a devil in disguise.
Chris Isaak and LeAnn Rimes
Devil in Disguise
After Amelia fends off the advances of Victor one too many times he throws in her a cell at the compound. Her neighbor is singing and she and he make a friendship. Eventually she discovers that it is Donovan Grey. He's been there for a year and half since they first came to Zimbabwe. They spend three months in confinement where Finley can no longer protect her and Victor can do what he wants with Amelia - which Donovan can hear but not stop.
The compound comes under attack again and a cell wall is blown away.
After Amelia and Donovan escape, Finely catches up to them. Hijinks ensue. Amelia attacks him, Donovan knocks him out and they escape. Goodbye is for Finley. (I guess I could have used their other song about I don't want to be your friend again but I just love goodbye.)
Goodbye
Save Ferris
Amelia and Donovan eventually cross back into Botswana and go to the consulate. It's April 1st but it's not a joke.
Donovan, who is Australian, and Amelia are sent back to their respective countries.
When Amelia returns home she hears that Edward has been around looking for her. She spent so much time over the last year and a half trying to survive the assaults of two villians that she never thought about Edward's heartbreak. She just thought about her own. This is Amelia's thoughts toward Edward. This video is a story in and of itself but I couldn't resist.
Duke Special
Portrait
Early in the original story St. Aubert (Adrian) remarks that Valancourt (Edward) is a nice young man but he has never seen Paris. It's like saying Edward has never seen the temptations of Vegas. Well, while Amelia is gone Edward takes some of her last words to care for Grace (who is like her grandmother) literally which leads him into financial straits. He falls into a gambling ring and runs up debts which cause him to quit school and get two jobs. Here is Edward's take on himself and what that choice cost him.
Sanford Clark
The Fool
Amelia is broken-hearted to hear that he has turned out so bad. Are there no good, worthy, honorable men, she wonders. This next song is a great representation of a broken heart.
She & Him
Sentimental Heart
At home, she sees things from her travels to Italy that reminds her of Edward and how innocent their first connection was. The reminders are painful. Take it away Ben!
Ben E. King
Don't Play That Song
Adrian was a botanist who had greenhouses on his property which have since fallen into a mass of weeds and dead plants. Amelia is distressed as she looks at yet another thing that was robbed from her by her imprisonment. This next song comes as Amelia takes out her anger and frustration in one of the green houses. Amidst the destruction she finds a bulb that has survived two years of neglect and nature. Amelia's hope is reflected here and she is able to turn a corner.
Travis
Safe
This is the beginning of Edward's path to repentance toward Amelia.
EdVedd (Hoobastank Cover)
The Reason
Edward leaves the issue to Amelia.
Travis
Only Molly Knows
He comes back to Caledonia (which is the town where Amelia lives and both opens and closes the book) to reassert his repentance.
Paolo Nutini
Caledonia
Amelia's response mirrors that of the woman in Duke Special's next song. "No, our love goes deeper than this."
Duke Special
Our Love Goes Deeper Than This
I love the beauty of this song and it highlights the scene where Edward and Amelia can lay it all out.
Duke Special
Love is a Series of Scars
Kate's song, Radio Sweethearts, sums the story up nicely. It takes the vantage point of several years later. (Technically in the song they are dead but...)
Kate Rusby
Radio Sweethearts
One of the main points of the original story is that Amelia's sensibility gets away from her and she envisions all kinds of crazy spectral extras. As you may have noticed from the songs, taking out all of the mysteries in my adaptation allows me to interpret the story in a more literal way. I'm off to write.
Feeling the itch? Create your own story through music and then send me the link.
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