Song and Story: a lightbulb moment on Radio 2. #writingtips #writerscraft #showdonttell

I don’t suppose it’s surprising that composing in different artistic genres and media should be simialr but these things always catch me unawares. Like on Sunday when I was half-listening to Elaine Page on Radio 2 interviewing songwriter Steven Schwartz. When he alluded to songs which tell a story successfully, something he also tries to achieve, I sat up and took notice.

“I tend to know what I’m aiming for, either at the end of a verse or the end of the entire song. The craft is to make it...