The listener’s reaction to your song is only as real as the characters in your song.

Do you have trouble getting your songs to connect with your audience on an emotional level? Do the characters in your songs sometimes feel flat, cliche, or vague? Do you ever wonder how some characters in hit songs seem so real that they leap out of the radio and into your heart while your characters often don’t?

If your goal is success in the music business (as a songwriter writing for cuts, a singer/songwriter working toward a career on radio, or an indie artist wanting better shows and better sales at the merch table), then making your characters REAL is a big deal. If that never happens, odds are your career never happens, either. At least not as big as it should.

Usually when a listener doesn’t connect with the character in a song, it’s because the songwriter hasn’t PROVEN the character to the listener. The listener doesn’t care about your character because the character doesn’t feel real.

The solution to this problem is usually imagery.

When used well, imagery makes your character believable. Pictures are proof. Imagery gets your song past the listener’s head and into the listener’s heart.

TELL me about an cute little abandoned shelter puppy, and I’ll be sad for a minute. SHOW me that cute little abandoned shelter puppy, and I’ll adopt it.

I’m a lyricist. Words are my thing. In a town full of incredible musicians and great singers, I’ve been able to land publishing deals (Major Bob, Peer Music, etc.), cuts (Joe Nichols, Lady Antebellum, Randy Travis, etc.), and hits (Alan Jackson, Gord Bamford) as a lyricist. And a big part of being a successful lyricist is knowing how to use imagery to create believable characters.

On Wednesday, September 17, from 8pm to 9pm Central, I’ll be hosting an exclusive online workshop to teach you how to use imagery to bring your characters to life.

There are only a few “Top Ten” tickets still available for this event, so don’t wait.  Click on the image below to find out more!