Wednesday, April 22, 2015

2015 A to Z Challenge: Pianissimo - Day 19 (S)

For the third consecutive year, I am participating in the A to Z blog challenge.
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

This year, we're going to go through my latest full-length novel, Pianissimo.

19 days in means that S is our letter today. S is for softly, or softness.

Pianissimo means, "to be played softly."

How does that apply to the story?

It relates in a few ways, actually.

First off, there is the softness, the tenderness, and the love between Agnes and Margaret. And that softness needed to be played softly due to social stigmas of that era. They couldn't be out and proud, like so many of us are able to be nowadays. Instead, they needed to downplay their love and affection. They needed to be quiet and secretive. Their love song needed to be played softly, so to speak.

Even Corinne's story was played out softly. So much of her story is kept in the silence of her solitude. She had no audience but her own mind (and Millie and Mollie, of course). Her experiences are quiet, heard only in her mind. Rich comes along later, but her self-discovery is still a quiet concert for one.

Corinne's greatest realization of Agnes and Margaret's humanity is the apex of the story, and yet it is played so quietly. It is an epiphany that she shares with no one. There is no giant, "lighting bolt" moment. It's just a thought that gently and quietly washes over her.

There are more ways - several - that softly or softness applies to the story of Pianissimo, but I don't want to give it all away! Just remember that some of life's greatest moments aren't big and loud, but gentle, sweet, and soft.

http://www.amazon.com/Pianissimo-Lauren-Shiro-ebook/dp/B00OEOTZMC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420832795&sr=8-2&keywords=lauren+shiro

2 comments:

Majanka Verstraete said...

I used to play the clarinet, so I remember pianissimo! My teacher always put her finger on her lips then, and made her eyes really wide, so we'd play as quiet as possible.

My latest A to Z Challenge post.

C.D. Gallant-King said...

I love a soft, quiet story with a good turn of phrase. It doesn't always need to be melodramatics and explosions.