

Miranda wasn’t afraid to write wherever the words took him while giving himself a deadline.Īs writers, we can spend a lot of time planning and outlining. The two booked The Public Theater before Miranda began work on the second act of the play. He wrote the songs almost entirely in the same order they fall in the show.Īs he wrote music with his friend and composer, Alex Lacamoire, Miranda expanded his mixtape into a stage show. Instead, he had an idea to write a mixtape of hip-hop songs based on Alexander Hamilton’s life. He didn’t have the entire story outlined and planned. While writing Hamilton, Lin-Manual Miranda didn’t have the end in mind. I looked up and the town had its eyes on me. Wrote everything down far as I could see. Takeaway: Stuff your writing with details both big and small.
#Musical hamilton writer series#
His Song of Ice and Fire series contains many passing references to other characters’ stories only noticed by keen eyes. And not just the overt details that the reader will notice on the first read, but the smaller details below the surface that might not be as obvious. Whatever we’re writing, the details are important. These subtle details help flesh out the story and add dimension to the characters.
#Musical hamilton writer full#
The characters’ movements mimic their thoughts: one is full of options while the other refuses to see possibilities. Hamilton moves in sweeping arcs while Burr only walks in straight lines and hard angles. From character movement to using actual headlines from the era on prop newspapers, the show is stuffed with intricate details. Hamilton: The Revolution depicts the attention to minute detail Lin-Manuel Miranda and company put into developing the musical. One stroke and you’ve consumed my waking days. I noticed a comma in the middle of a phrase. In a letter I received from you two weeks ago Takeaway: Write like you’re running out of time. It also means understanding grammatical conventions and rules of standard writing and pushing or breaking them when appropriate. This means writing daily or in furious bouts, whatever works for us. Hamilton did the same while writing essays defining the United States government.Īs writers, we can take a cue from both men and write like we’re running out of time - like there isn’t enough time to capture all the words in our heads. Both are genius writers who pushed boundaries while being rooted in possibility.Īs he wrote, Miranda wasn’t afraid to take the rules of musical theater and bend or break them for his own needs. Through his installments in The Federalist Papers and other collected writings, we know that Hamilton had a lot to say. Lin-Manuel Miranda depicts Alexander Hamilton furiously writing, unable to get all of his thoughts on paper. Write day and night like you’re running out of time?Įvery day you fight like you’re running out of time. Why do you write like you’re running out of time? Be Ruthlessly Creative and Relentlessly Pragmatic Takeaway: Be prepared for inspiration to strike. Engage with the world around you and never cease to jot down something that piques your interest. As writers, we need to be ready for inspiration wherever and whenever it may strike. Regardless, the story of one of America’s Founding Fathers inspired Miranda to write. Whether Chernow’s biography was the genesis for Miranda’s idea or the fuel is up for debate. Reading the 818-page tome, Miranda began a journey that would cause a theatrical revolution. ( “My Shot”)Īccording to Hamilton: The Revolution, the book that documents the musical’s creation, Lin-Manuel Miranda bought Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton at an airport before going on vacation.
%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24922753%2FMIRANDA_091523_3.jpeg)
For the first time, I’m thinking past tomorrow. Every action’s an act of creation! I’m laughing in the face of casualties and sorrow. I’m passionately smashing every expectation. Don’t Be Afraid to Change at the Last Minute
