Therese here to officially introduce our newest regular Writer Unboxed contributor, Alison Hammer! Alison has published two novels under her own name, and six as half of the popular writing duo known as “Ali Brady.” She is the Founder and Co-President of The Artists Against Antisemitism. Welcome, Alison! We’re thrilled to have you with us!

We’ve all heard the advice to read like a writer—to read not just for entertainment, but for research and inspiration. To see how another author uses the same limited tools we all have—words, rhythm, structure, character—to make us feel something real.

It’s great advice. And I believe it should be expanded to include the way we listen to music, too.

As a huge music fan, I’ve always been drawn to lyrics. Don’t get me wrong—the voice, melody and instrumentation matter. But a song can own my heart if the words speak to me. It’s possible my admiration comes from the fact that this is one kind of writing I can’t do (at least on my own) since my musical talent is limited to singing karaoke—and only after having a few glasses of liquid courage.

But I’d argue that a good song can be a textbook for story. The best lyricists can do in minutes what others do in chapters. Many songs are short stories set to music—and if we look at them the right way, they can teach us about character, voice, imagery, structure, and emotion. All in about three minutes.

For me, one of the best people to study is Taylor Swift. , particularly her latest album, The Life of a Showgirl. I wouldn’t call myself a Swiftie, but I’ve been a fan from the beginning. “Love Story” is one of my go-to karaoke songs, and I’ve always been drawn to her music. But this album? This one made me go all-in.

I’ll admit: part of the reason why is Taylor’s own arc. Love her or hate her, she’s been in the public eye for twenty years, writing about the innocence of love, her heartbreak, and her reinvention. It’s almost impossible not to root for her, to want her to get that happy ending worthy of a fairytale.

But that’s not the main reason I love this album.

The thing I keep coming back to is the storytelling inside the songs. Not the obvious “story songs” that announce themselves as narratives like the title track. I’m drawn to the ones that make you fall in love and go along for the ride without realizing you’ve just listened to a plot.

My favorite song on the album might be “Honey.” For such a simple song, it contains multitudes with every line building character through moments—showing, not telling, like we’re always told to do in fiction.

“When anyone called me “Sweetheart”

it was passive-aggressive at the bar,

 and the b**** was tellin’ me to back off

 ‘cause her man had looked at me wrong.”  

In one sentence, we have setting, conflict, power dynamics, and a narrator with a point of view you can hear. It gets even better:

“If anyone called me ‘Honey’

 it was standin’ in the bathroom, white teeth.

They were saying’ that skirt don’t fit me,

and I cried the whole way home.”

Now, that’s craft. Taylor doesn’t tell […]