M is for Music

Music is great for almost everything. It can inspire and motivate to continue. For me it also sparks the interest to write and by having a playlist, I can associate songs to particular novels. I also have found certain songs work for certain lifts at the gym as well. I wonder how many other people picked Music for M over in the A to Z blog challenge..


Fiction

I make playlists for my fiction writing. I have too many to list in fact and I've posted probably 3 or more blog posts over the years about the playlists, so I will just post a couple novels and songs that are specific to them (or artists and such).

Snow - Evanescence and Within Temptation, in particular The Howling

Aeon Fading - Help, I'm Alive by Metric and No Light, No Light by Florence & the Machine

Standing Ground - Second Chance by Shinedown

Every novel has at least 5 songs if not more than 10 on the playlist, which I listen to whenever writing that novel.

Fitness

I make playlists for fitness activities. I have a variety too with a couple that are for walking, one is more rock/alternative and the other is a much shorter pop one. I have a musical playlist along with a disney one, which needs more music. I also am now building running ones which will probably be a rock focused on and an alternative.

Good running songs include: Help, I'm Alive by Metric, The Howling by Withing Temptation and Welcome to the Jungle by Guns n Roses.

Good lifting songs so far are things like: Scream by Avenge Sevenfold, Rock You Like a Hurricane by Scorpion and from Jekyll & Hyde the musical both This is the Moment and Alive.



Do you use music for fiction or fitness?

I is for Inspire

You never know when you're actions or words will inspire someone else. (blogs in A to Z challenge)


We are inspired by many different things, whether it's motivation quotes and images on pinterest, workouts we see other people pushing hard through, or the words on the page of a book, doesn't matter. Inspiration is around us often. There is inspiration to be fit and inspiration to write. And doing either could inspire someone else.

No division of topic today. Just a question or two.

What inspires you?
Who have you inspired?

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M is for Music

I love music. Growing up I was in both band and choir. I listened to music when I could and have always enjoyed a plethora of genres. Music has many uses and can be helpful for both of my blog endeavors: fiction and fitness.

For fitness I love to listen to music when walking. I would walk as a teen on our dirt road (just under half a mile one way) and listen to music with a portable cd player, then eventually got an ipod when I was older. Whether it's outside, on the treadmill, or for a dance exercise program, music always helped keep me motivated to keep moving.

Aside from fitness, I am a big fan of music while I write. In fact, now for almost every novel I have (except maybe Thomas/Kyle) I have created a music playlist with songs that are for that novel only. After listening to the play list a few times I can easily associate those songs and that playlist to the specific novel to the point where hearing them makes me want to work on that story. I pick songs that remind me of either the main character, a second very important character, the novel as a whole, or a certain part of the novel. There are some posts where I've talked about my playlists in the past, but here are a few novels that are in progress and one song from each of their playlists.

Ottohahn in E Minor:
This novel is different. I have songs by Chopin, Seether, Adam Lambert, Stone Sour and Lifehouse. Quite the weird variety. But they all work with the story.



Aeon Fading:
This is my novel from NaNoWriMo 2012. Still not quite finished, just have the ending to write. This song I listened to a lot as it was focused on the main character and helped me stay in his mind set. I used listenonrepeat web site during November for writing sprints to hear the song over and over again.



Cloud 9:
New novella that I'm trying to get the first draft written soon. Has a female main character, which I have far less practice writing. Nice cause I can have female vocalists a bit more (yeah the gender is a little important for voice when I"m listening to songs, along with a few other factors) but also tough because I don't want love songs as it's more of a middle grade story about a young cloud-walker.




Do you ever make playlists?
What do you use music for in your life?

G is for Girly Inspiration

This one is going to be fun. I like to use weheartit.com to find images for inspiration and music, but sometimes it's hard because most of my main characters are male. It's much easier to find girly images on weheartit and there are some songs/musicians that it's hard to add to a playlist as inspiration because they just don't sound right. And while most of my male main characters are gay, they aren't girly. But I have a couple ideas with female main characters and the one I'm doing research for... she is girly and I've already started finding images and songs for inspiration.

The novel doesn't have a title and neither does the main character. It's a very different one than any I've ever written before and I can't wait even though it means lots of research. Here are some things I've found so far for inspiration.

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What about you?

Have any girly inspirations for stories?

Want to know more about my girly story? hehe

D is for Dreams

(Note: Insecure Writer's Support Group post is right below this one)

I know I've talked about dreams on this blog before but they are an important part of the inspiration that has created most of my novel ideas. But don't worry, I won't ramble too much about how great dreaming is and that I use them to develop the stories. Instead, I'm going to post a small segment of 2 different dreams I've had (embellished of course cause I do claim to be a writer) and then say which story they inspired. (Sorry if the post is long. I really struggle with brevity and that's why I write novels instead of flash fiction.)

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Dream 1:
"Target in sight," I whisper into the headset. Adjusting the blonde wig, my head aches. It is too tight but we can't have them falling off. I look back at my target. One of the Suits has the gem in his hand. "How should I take it?"

Ephram's voice comes to my ear. "How about a little dance, a song and a jump?"

I've gotta hand it to the boy, he still has a sense of humor. "No way. I'm not singing again."

"Come on," he adds a little whine, "it'll be fun."

Leanne interrupts. "Isaac, just go. We'll sing through the intercom and distract them."

There is a pause in waiting for them to act. Then the crackle happens, the system turning on, and out pours the refrain of the Suits song(dubbed by us), but not sung well. All heads turn up to the ceiling and it is my cue.

Now is not the time to reconsider. With a quick intake of air, I get off to a running start, grabbing the gem as I run by the group of Suits. One jumps in my way but I run straight through him not concerned at the awed reactions. That move always freaks people out.

I stop for a second at the edge of the cliff.

"Kid. You have no where to go." One Suit says, edging closer. His fear of me is obvious, the mutations scare everyone who doesn't have them. "Give us the stone back and..."

With a laugh I jump over the edge. To them it looks like I'm flying. The truth is, I can't fly. What I do is a graceful and very extended fall.

Novel = Tattle Tell (or well, the sequel to Tattle Tell because the idea for the sequel came first)



Dream 2:
I couldn't believe it. There laying in the middle of this room surrounded by regular offices and a tanked up security system for what the humans claim is hazardous material, lies the woman I have dedicated my life to finding: the prophet. And she is nothing like the stories in those books I read as a child.

At first, I don't move, almost wondering if I had imagined the whole journey up the seven different flights to the one room, managing to do it without being caught. But after blinking a few more times I knew I had succeeded. Only then did I truly notice her.

Curled up on the ground on top of a human sized pet pillow, her features were hard to distinguish. Gray and white hair hides her face, flowing down past her hips almost like a blanket. I had expected female. I had expected power. And I had expected beauty. I hadn't expected age. Even asleep she looked old but in a graceful type of beauty that I've noticed human women with their shorter life spans desire. Then she stirs awake.

I have pulled the blade out, prepared to follow through with the plan but the sight before me stops any idea of action. In a fluid display of agility, the prophet rose and in a light glow of her aura washed down, her appearance changed. As if my presence, the nearness of the powers once harnessed, had brought her youth back to life. Gray hair turns brown, the color of dry soil but more appealing, and her skin smooths to perfect complexion. And yet, in her eyes I read despair and longing. She knew my purpose and longed for it. She was ready to escape the chains and faced death with open arms.

Novel = Blood Prophesy (better title coming later)



Have you had a dream inspire a story?
Share a dream with the rest of the bloggers that pass by? (if you want)