Composite Characters
In regards to sharing our stories, do we write about it in a way that a documentary filmmaker approaches his subject? Is our job simply to report? My approach has been to take my real world , keep the essence of them intact, and change some of the features. I occasionally create composite characters in my songs.
For example, let’s say I’m writing a song about someone going through life being bold and unafraid. I may create a character in my song that has attributes of numerous ‘bold and unafraid’ people I’ve known throughout my life. I may give them the physical attributes of someone I knew in college, but combine them with the cunning of someone I met last year. If I’m writing about a breakup, I may use as an initial model a woman I broke up with 20 years ago morphing into a totally different one 10 years later. In the song, she may live in the city of the first one, but have the attitude of the second one. While there’s nothing wrong with writing about one person instead of creating a composite, (I know, I’ve done it), a composite character gives you more to write about. Think about it, there are twice as many stories to tell!
The important thing is to stay focused on what you’re trying to convey in your song. If the song is about betrayal or unrequited love or jealousy, wouldn’t the song benefit from you tapping into all your experiences with these subjects instead of just the most recent one?
By the way, the techniques we’ve just discussed, attention to detail and composite characters, are not limited to confessional songs and can be applied to other types. It’s just that they’re especially important in emotionally based songs.
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Jim Bruno's Songwriting Class 