Writer Takeaways From Christmas Songs

 

Hello everyone, Winnie Griggs here. I hope everyone is having a really merry and blessed Christmas, full of the joy and hope that is at the heart of this season.

Every time I turn on the radio right now, Christmas music, both hymns and secular, come bursting out. I got to wondering if I could find any writerly takeaways from any of these and came up with the following seven:

I Saw Three Ships (you can listen to it HERE)

Writer Takeaway:
The rule of three is a powerful thing. Not only are there the titular three ships in this song, but all of the stanzas repeat the phrase “On Christmas day” three times. We are all wired to sit up and take notice when things come in threes – it starts from our earliest years as we learn stories about The Three Little Pigs, Three Blind Mice, Goldilocks and the Three Bears – you get the idea.
By The Way - According to some sources, the three ships mentioned in the song are camels, the 'ships of the desert', and refer to the camels the wise men road into Bethlehem on.

The 12 Days Of Christmas  (you can listen to it HERE)

Writer Takeaway: 
I actually have 2 takeaways from this one

• First is the power of repetition – you need to weave in the important stuff more than once (see above on I Saw Three Ships)
• The second is the endless riffs writers can make on the same theme. I read somewhere that from the initial release of the poem this song is based on sometime in the 18th century and the current day that there have been about 20 official variations. And of course there are the endless unofficial, pop culture and off-the-cuff versions that crop up every year.
  
  

Do You Hear What I Hear  (you can listen to it HERE)

Writer Takeaway:
Appropriate use of the five senses in any scene helps to make the writing stronger and more vivid.

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer  (you can listen to it HERE)

Writer Takeaway:
Everyone loves a good underdog story, especially when the underdog does something heroic and saves the day.

 

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town  (you can listen to it HERE)

Writer Takeaway:
Foreshadowing and Anticipation can be used to great effect to keep the reader hanging onto your every word. And if there are negative as well as positive consequences (He knows if you've been bad or good!) so much the better.

The Little Drummer Boy  (you can listen to it HERE)

Writer Takeaway:
The best hero gives from the heart, not the wallet

 

All I Want For Christmas Is You  (you can listen to it HERE)

Writer Takeaway:
This one is especially important for romance writers – remember to keep the romance front and center in your story

So what do you think about my takeaways? Can you think of some others from these songs or other Christmas songs?  

I hope that each and every one of you have a sweet, joyous, blessed Christmas.