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Work In Progress
Oct
18
Music to Write By
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Some people can only write when it’s absolutely quiet. Some people write best when there’s a lot of stuff going on around them. I can’t work at either extreme. Sometimes I need the noise to be able to concentrate, so I listen to music. It can’t be anything with words, though. No voices singing lyrics, as I tend to want to pay attention to what they’re saying, rather than what I’m doing. (Cooking shows seem to be the exception to the rule - I can have them going on the tv in the background and it doesn’t bother me, but that’s another story.)
Classical music is an option, but I find that it’s too, well, bland. It doesn’t grip me and help me keep in the mood. I’m sure there probably is a bunch of classical music that would work, but I don’t have the time to try and find it. So, my music of choice is movie soundtracks.
Why? Because they’re so evocative. It just a minute (or sometimes even less), the music sets up and supports a mood or theme. It’s great. I don’t play the music on shuffle, though. Too disruptive. I play through each album in order, and I have the entire playlist set to repeat endlessly. I have no idea what the play length is for the list. All I know is that it works. 
If you’re interested in seeing the exact track list, it’s below the break.
Popularity: 14% [?]
Oct
16
When Things Go Wrong
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The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
That phrase can be applied to just about anything you do. Since this blog is about writing and the writing life, we’ll be looking at it from that perspective. We all have the best intentions, and set what are achievable goals for ourselves. For example, I do some housework, then spend the rest of the morning writing. Today would be a slight deviation from that, as I had two errands in town I wanted to run before getting my day off it it’s usual start.
I got a call about an hour and a half ago to come pick up my daughter from school because she’s sick. I wasn’t at home when the call came. I was walking into Kroger to get the lemon I needed to make supper. Luckily, getting the lemon was the last errand I needed to do, so I went straight from the store to school to get her.
So, what had turned out to be a twenty minute delay in starting my writing day became an hour delay. And to top it all off, I think I may be coming down with what she’s got.
And now I’m faced with a choice. Do I throw in the towel, grab a mug of peppermint tea and join Ari under the comforter on the couch and watch Food Network with her, or do I try to slug it out and do my best to keep to the agenda I created for today? The one I really want to do is snuggle with my girlie, but I can’t do that. The Muse 2008 Online Writers Conference is kicking my butt, and I need to kick it back. I’ve got a crit for my writing group to complete, and I have to do some more housework and make supper (a savory cheesecake, which I will comment on at Chef Lisa sometime soon).
If I don’t make it, then at least I’ll have tried. And that’s really the most important thing. If you can’t write/work through adversity, then you’re greatly reducing your chances at success.
And to end this on a happier tone, here’s another quote from Bette Davis:
“To fulfill a dream, to be allowed to sweat over lonely labor, to be given a chance to create, is the meat and potatoes of life. The money is the gravy.”
Popularity: 17% [?]
Oct
15
QotD: October 15, 2008
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My passions were all gathered together like fingers that made a fist. Drive is considered aggression today; I knew it then as purpose.
- Bette Davis
Popularity: 13% [?]
Oct
14
QotD: Tuesday, October 14, 2008
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Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.
- E. L. Doctorow
Popularity: 11% [?]
Oct
6
QotD: Monday. October 6, 2008
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“Time ripens all things. No man is born wise.”
Miguel de Cervantes
Popularity: 17% [?]