This writing prompt is inspired by a book I’m currently reading titled, “Purple Haze” by Andrew Einsprunch. It’s a YA fantasy loaded with humor at many levels. One agent he uses to deliver humor are song titles and lyrics or, I should say, a play on song titles and lyrics. Granted, if the reader doesn’t know the song or recognize the reference to the lyrics in the story they will miss out on the joke, but they are hard to miss for those familiar with them. And, they blend well enough into the dialog of the story, that those who don’t get it, will carry on reading probably unaware of the gem they just missed.
Pumping Your Muse writing prompt
With this fresh on my mind, I thought about playing a game of connect the dots with popular 60s song titles to come up with a scene or short story. Challenging but fun, right? It’s a great way to find a new creative nugget for your muse to mine.
Choose at least three to five 60s songs titles from this song list and connect them with a plot thread using the genre of your choice.
- Brown Eyed Girl (Van Morrison)
- Pale Blue Eyes (Velvet Underground)
- Mustang Sally (Wilson Pickett)
- Barbara Ann (Beach Boys)
- Help Me Rhonda (Beach Boys)
- Bernadette (Four Tops)
- Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You (Frankie Valli)
- Save the Last Dance for Me (The Drifters)
- Louie Louie (The Kingsmen)
- Sugar Sugar (The Archies)
- I Can’t Get No Satisfaction (Rolling Stones) – For this one you can just use the title “Satisfaction” if you prefer.
- Fortunate Son (Credence Clearwater Revival)
- These Boots are Made for Walking (Nancy Sinatra)
- White Rabbit (Jefferson Airplane)
- Born to be Wild (Steppenwolf)
- Eight Days a Week (Beatles)
- Piece of My Heart (Janis Joplin)
- I Heard it Through the Grapevine (Marvin Gaye)
- I’m a Believer (The Monkees)
- House of the Rising
Son (Animals)
Once you discover your character(s), if you find them interesting, do a character interview to learn more about them. You'll be surprised where it can take you.
A sample connect the dot writing exercise 
Born to be wild by Donna Sundblad
A hooded brown eyed girl with caramel skin and long wavy ebony ringlets stood before me. “Are you Mustang Sally?” She closed her eyes without answering. A wave of dizziness washed over me. I thrust my arms out to the side trying to keep my balance. The spinning sensation eased and I opened my eyes. “What was that?”
The girl’s eyes fluttered open. Her icy pale blue eyes sent a chill down my spine. Feline features transformed her face. I couldn’t move. Fear clutched me. I wanted to scream, but I only squeaked out, “I can’t take my eyes off of you.”
She moved her head from side to side purring with her tongue as she released me. “Louie, Louie. I warned you but did you listen? I am born to be wild.”
Photo credits: wikipedia
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