Writing memorable music

[Sascha Franck]

Possibly not much of an advice (you may know it already anyway): Have an eye on the rhythm of popular melodies. No, make that two eyes. Or even more.
Try an experiment. You need someone else to listen. Now tap him/her just the rhythm of "Jingle Bells". 99% of people will instantly recognize the tune.
The same goes for Beethovens 5th, "eine kleine Nachtmusik" and probably even the already mentioned "Penny Lane". For the latter you will perhaps need to add the rough shape of the melody, but you don't need the exact notes.
Always remember: Rhythm is king!

In addition (or as an extension, whatever), I find it a good idea to come up with some target notes and then approach them. Pickups are great to make a target note sound more "plausible". Spice them up rhythmically and it might become something. Listen to some songs you like and where you find the melody to be strong. You may very often notice that there's target notes approached by whatever pickups (which sometimes can even be a bar long or more).

- Sascha