(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . WriteOn: Did that really happen? [1] ['Aashirs Nani', 'News Corpse', 'Rob In Vermont'] Date: 2026-10-01 Lately, of physical necessity, I’ve been having to sit most of the day. My choice of where to sit is at the computer. And so I’ve discovered the “reaction video” phenomenon. It’s utterly fascinating, to watch hip-artists and rappers reacting to the music of my life. Some of the songs are so deeply imbedded that I can’t remember the first time I heard them, only that they were everywhere at one time and absolutely saturated the airwaves. Think “Stairway to Heaven” or “Coming in the Air Tonight” or “Sweet Transvestite”. Or even further back, “Big Iron” or “Jolene”. “El Paso” anyone? But equally, I love when they do a song that I’ve heard and loved recently. I can never have the “first time” hearing it again, but I can relive that experience through them. I’ve probably watched over 200 reaction videos of “Hi Ren”. (Damn, that young Welsh guy is a creative genius!) Watching all these people, many of whom write their own music and lyrics, I’ve been struck by a theme that pops up with many of them. They keep talking about how “real” the songs are. They ask if “Fancy” is a real-life experience of Reba McEntire. (Can’t be. It was originally written by Bobbie Gentry. Reba’s version is a cover more than 20 years later.) They think “Big Bad John” must be based on something true, in the way “John Henry” was. Their reasoning? Details. You wouldn’t put all those specific details in the lyrics unless you’d actually lived that experience. Okay, they’re right about “Hi Ren” and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”. And close with “Coat of Many Colors” and “Coal Miner’s Daughter”. “Fast Car” isn’t the story of Tracy Chapman’s life, but it’s built from things she saw around her. But not every detailed story/song is a personal lived experience. Nobody jumped off the Tallahatchie bridge until after that song about Billy Joe McAllister. That’s what brings the craft to our artistry of writing. Can we make the story “real” through details? And more importantly, can we do it without descending into purple prose? (And please don’t inspire a bunch of copy-cat jumpers.) Even if you write SF/F, you may not be able to confuse the reader into believing they’re reading real, true history/crime/romance/adventure, but can you make it feel real while they’re under your enchantment? So how do writers put in those details? Actions. Sometimes dialogue, but more often in actions. Not action as in fisticuffs or battles or high-speed chases or clashing swords, but the things the characters do or observe happening. Dolly’s multi-colored coat is only a vague idea until she tells how her mother pieced it from a box of rags. Now I can “see” it coming together bit by bit. Add in the story of Joseph as told by her mother as she sewed, and then her pride in having a coat with a history, and I’m in. And then the plot twist when she went to school–hey, I saw that coming. Just as I saw Big John striding through the dust to heft the cracked timber back into place. And their reactions? I’m surprised at how often those rappers and hip-hop artists are moved to tears. Those big, bad guys who swear a lot and talk in the roughest language about unspeakable acts will cry when hearing words well crafted. Did you know Tupac’s favorite song was “Vincent”? As he lay in the hospital, his mother played it over and over for him, hoping to give him ease. Challenge: Give us a scene that has details to make the reader believe it’s “real”. See how brief you can make this. I know some of us are over-achievers and will turn out a 25K word novella, and if that’s where your heart takes you, go for it. But see if you can get the challenge met in the first paragraph or two. OR Give an example of something you’ve read (or heard) that makes you think only a person who’s lived this life can tell it this well. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I think this is where the schedule ended last week: Oct 1 WO Aashirs nani – – – – – – – FWIP dconrad Oct 8 WO sagesource – – – – – – – FWIP sagesource Oct 15 WO strawbale – – – – – – – FWIP dconrad Oct 22 WO mettle fatigue – – – – – – – FWIP ___________ Oct 29 WO strawbale – – – – – – – FWIP ____________ Nov 5 WO Aashirs nani – – – – – – – – FWIP _____________ Nov 12 WO mettle fatigue – – – – – – – FWIP _____________ Nov 19 WO ____________ – – – – – – – – FWIP _____________ And I’ll add a link to the FWIP once it posts. Fiction Works In Progress [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/10/1/800103259/community/writeon/ Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/