Motivational Music, the Massively Cheesy Edition

So I've been working on a new "About Me" page for my author blog and for a new author website that I've been setting up, all in advance of RoboNomics becoming a featured story on Wattpad. And while I've written out my story, it has taken on a definite...hard-headed tone.

For some reason this made me think of the various Motivational playlists that I've shared with you in the past. And it also put me in mind of the very large blind spot that I intentionally had in sharing those playlists. That is, I didn't want to admit to listening to some of the most ridiculously corny songs when I need a motivational pick-me-up.



Maybe over-the-top songs about obtaining one's goals are required once you've decided to pursue a career in the arts. Reading, training, learning and practicing. Drafting and revising and line editing -- all of this takes time. So much time that it's hard to keep my 'eye on the prize'. And so once in awhile I have to indulge. I have to remind myself why I'm doing this. I need obvious lyrics and bad instrumentation to knock me over the head with my original intention.

This is how I build my own support system. In a world full of trolls and haters, I don't troll or hate back. I just listen to cheese-ball songs! :P

Just for Fun Friday!

Currently loving on this song! :)



Maybe it's strange to feel this way about a song that so peppy, but I just love it. I love it for reasons of self-reflection: that reminder that I need sometimes of refining (and self-defining) what the "Good Life" entails. Does having "Mountains of Things" really mean that you have a good life? Are expensive consumer goods like cars and gold watches and diamonds, etc., just a way to distract me with bright, shiny objects from actually finding real fulfillment?

To heavy for a blog about inspiring music for writers? Bah! It got me to write about this questions, didn't it? :P

Just for Fun Friday

Well, despite my cold getting worse (ugh, summer colds. Be gone, illness!), I'm pulling a Proust. So I've got a Just for Fun Friday for you. Another musical friend from years returns:

It was probably a pal in undergrad who first introduced me to Meshell Ndegeocello. Or maybe it was Audiogalaxy. Anyone remember that? Anyways, her music is unlike anything I've heard before or since. Amazing, inspirational, what else is there to say? Okay, time to take care of myself. Also known as, sleep time!! :P

Just for Fun Friday

I was sitting in my car the other day, waiting on my love who was running on errand. I turned on the radio to this song and instantly loved it. I Shazamed it and found out the track heralds the return of my old dear friends, Silversun Pickups. Wheeee!


So good. So happy. :)

I also love when I find bands that seem to evolve with me. When I first heard "Lazy Eye", I was obsessed with it. But I don't listen to that song much these days because I'm not in that emotional place anymore. But "Cannibal" just so corresponds with where my head is these days, I'm pretty sure it's going to become my new obsession.

Music for Journeying

Having recently completed a move that included a journey across part of this continent, I thought I'd focus on songs that make me think of journeying.

There have always been stories of traveling in all world literature. And much has been written about how journey stories are metaphors for a human's journey through life -- traveling from major life event to major life event rather than from place to place. I, for one, have yet to write my own big journey story that I have on my back burner. But in my life, I've always moved around. In 33 years I've lived in 9 different places. I haven't seen much of the world, but I have seen much of this continent we call America of the North.

So it might not be surprising that I am inspired by songs about traveling that have a definite folksy-country vibe. Here are just a few of these songs, starting where I started this journey: in the Wilderness of Manitoba.

And then of course there's Johnny Cash's "I've Been Everywhere" which is like a musical North American travel bingo. Of course, this move we crossed only a few of the places in the first verse off the list! Two provinces: Manitoba and Ontario. Six states: North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. And we passed through numerous cities: Winnipeg, Grand Forks, Fargo, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Baraboo, Madison, Chicago, Flint, Sarnia, London and Toronto. It was a long trip.

But I've realized that this enjoyment in travel, or rather, in moving from place to place is not a joy shared by many. I'm a rare breed: someone who likes moving. I've noticed that there are a couple members of my extended family who have that wanderlust, but beyond our family I don't know too many people who actually like the prospect of moving every few years. But it's something that has marked my adult life. The last time I lived in one place for a long time was between the ages of 3 and 17. Since then, I haven't lived in a city for longer than 3 years at a time.

So I've thrown in a few rambler anthems into this mix. If you're going to write a journey story, I hope you find that these songs give you some inspiration!

Also, be sure to enjoy the video for "Hopeless Wanderer." That one took me by surprise with its silly secret. :)

Just for Fun Friday

Hey kids! This week, I'm posting a super hit. Why? Because this song totally gets me super nostalgic.

I wasn't going to post the official video. Sometimes I'll avoid posting the official music videos if I think they are boring or just don't really adequately capture the spirit of the song. And in this video, there is definitely a lot to be bored about. Namely, random chicks with lingerie stuck in their butt cracks.

****TANGENT ALERT****

On the topic, I've never been quite sure why naked or half naked chicks is still in 2014 seen as edgy or pushing the envelope. Do you know how many naked chicks I've seen in music videos, in movies, on TV, on the internets in my lifetime without having sought those images out? Even time they cut to a scene of some girl in her undies, my vision actually blurred from the deep ennui I felt. BORING!!!!!

****TANGENT OVER****

However, I had to post this video. Because the particular summer that it reminds me of -- back when I was 21 ( don't ask me what year that was -- let's just tell you it was this millennium at least) -- one of the friends I went around with actually raced cars in his spare time. So on top of the song reminding me of that summer, parts of the video do as well.

It was a summer to remember. Of summer of dance clubs every weekend, of cottage parties, of unending parties. Sure, some really messed up stuff happened that summer. A couple things to me, but mostly really weird stuff around me. But more than the things that happened, it was the feeling of that summer. A long, hot summer between years of ungrad. Hasn't my entire life from that point to this been just an endeavor to recapture that feeling?

RoboNomics Book II Soundtrack

Hey all! As promised, I've put together a soundtrack for RoboNomics Book II over the past couple weeks. From my perspective, it's as though you can trace the broad outline of the plot through these tracks. That's probably impossible, however. You will have no way of knowing what's going to happen in the story from just listening to this music.

However, might a fun exercise to try and guess! :)


At least it's not as long as the RoboNomics Book I soundtrack! Hope you enjoy it!

Just for Fun Friday!

I've recently discovered St. Paul and the Broken Bones. Feel-good-down-to-your-soul music.

Sooooo good. Loves it. Happy Friday!

RoboNomics Book I Soundtrack

So, RoboNomics Book I is complete! At least, it is completely posted up on Wattpad now, entered into the Wattpad Prize, and as I just found out, has made it onto one of Wattpad's reading lists. The list is entitled "Time and Eternity". So cool. When they sent me the email explaining that the book is on the list, they said that they 'love' my story! Yay! :)

Before I leave the story, at last, to the care of the world, and start work on RoboNomics Book II, I would like to give it a good send off. And so, I've compiled the very best and most inspirational tracks from all of my previously 'Music that Inspired RoboNomics Chapter..." playlists into a master list.

And so, here it is kids, RoboNomics the Soundtrack. A massive list of the music I listened to while imagining the plot, coming up with character foibles, and revising -- the endless revising that I put into RoboNomics Book I.



Stay tuned for another little goodie next week...

Oh, I can't not tell you! I'm planning on releasing a preliminary music taste of Book II in the form of a RoboNomics Book II Soundtrack! Can't wait! :)

Music that Inspired RoboNomics Chapter 16!

Hey everyone! A little late in the week, I know. But it's a busy one. And now I have the last RoboNomics Book I inspiration playlist until I start posting RoboNomics Book II on September 1.

In the meantime, here's the inspiration playlist for Chapter 16. Remember to check out the story on Wattpad this coming Monday, April 28th at midnight EDT. Can't wait!

Just for Fun (good) Friday!

Hey! Do people have today off in North America? Europe? What's going on, is it a long weekend? Working from home means that you don't know these things. Plus I'm not exactly a Churchy Joe so Easter always seems to creep up on me and take me by surprise.

It's like: oh, it's April. Past my birthday, just sitting here waiting for May and summer...do da do da do...

AHHHH!!! Long weekend? What do you mean it's a long weekend?????


Oh well. We'll celebrate in our own way, shall we? With a visit from my sister (so excited!!!!), cheap chocolate bunnies after the fact, and a song:

 

So peppy and fun! Although the video ends up being a bit...ummm...of a downer? :P

Music that Inspired RoboNomics Chapter 15

Man, what a week this has been. So busy -- no time for blog posts. Okay, I had some time yesterday but after I wrote a post my piece of crap computer lost the whole thing. I was too tired to rewrite it. So never mind that. Onto the fun stuff!

The playlist of tracks that inspired the penultimate chapter of RoboNomics Book I!

In chapter 15, crazy exciting stuff happens to Andrea, our heroine. I actually did quite a bit of revising to the chapter this week -- so it's going to be a lot of brand spanking new material! Fancy that.

When we had last left Andrea, she had just lost Austin in the crowd in front of Toronto's Economic Relief Center. When chapter 15 opens, Elizabeth is trying to convince her friend to leave the place. But can Andrea trust Elizabeth, now that her former friend has joined Chris and his Anti-Robotists? And what happened to Austin?

Can't say too much about the plot of Chapter 15 without giving too much away. I guess you'll just have to head on over to Wattpad on Monday, April 21 at midnight EDT to find out!!!! :P

Just for Fun Friday!

Okay, okay. I know. This song was part of yesterday's post: music that inspired RoboNomics Chapter 14. But this track has been stuck in my head for ages. And it's awesome.

Isn't that what fun Fridays are all about? Tracks that I just can't get off my mind!!

Music that Inspired RoboNomics Chapter 14

Hey everybody! Another week, another chapter, another playlist! I am very proud of the playlist this week. I feel like it's almost an encapsulation of the entire RoboNomics Book I story in five songs.

RoboNomics Chapter 14 comes out, funnily enough, on Monday, April 14 at midnight EDT. In this chapter, things for Andrea and Austin go from bad to worse to worst. However, just when our favorite couple along with all the other citizens of Toronto are ready to give up hope, the government swoops in acting as hero and opens "Economic Relief Distribution Centers." There's only one problem: the centers rely heavily on robots. Is another clash with frustrated, desperate citizens inevitable?

You'll have to read Chapter 14 on Wattpad to find out!! ;)

In the meantime, enjoy the tunage:

Just for Fun Friday!

Since I am still going through my music collection, I thought I'd indulge your patience and make this Friday about that as well. Yesterday I came across a certain song that I have just about a million versions of, and I just can't get it out of head today:

Must get out of my head!!

Music that Inspired RoboNomics Chapter 13

Hey everyone! So Monday, April 7 is the release date for RoboNomics Chapter 13!

After all the high-stakes drama that happened in chapters 10 through 12, this chapter is a step-back that deals with the aftermath. In Toronto, the city is dealing with the aftermath of the Queen's Park riot. After it's been decided to abolish obsolete labor unions in Ontario, the citizens are feeling abandoned and desperate. Meanwhile, Andrea has to deal with the aftermath of what happened between her and Chris. Not only does she have to worry about what he'll do with the incriminating information he has about her, but she also has to worry about her worsening financial situation.

What's going to happen to Andrea? Is she going to lose her freedom, her husband, the entire life that she's constructed for herself?


Don't forget to check out RoboNomics on Wattpad this coming Monday to find out! :)

Spring Cleaning! (Musical Version)

So the spring cleaning this week continues. I'm just going to flat out ignore the fact that it's April 1st, since I fail at pranks.

Instead, I'll tell you about what I've been up to this week. Cleaning out my laptop for the first time since I bought it (which was early 2009) including my massive music collection. When I began the other day, I had 36 days (yes, you read that right) of MP3s. Now I've got it down under 34 days, but I've only gone through the numbered titles, and then all the way (backwards) from titles starting with Z to part way through S.

And I've uncovered some gems. Like this number, which my parents used to sing when I was little (my father especially used to sing any song about food including 'yes, we have no bananas' and 'when the moon's in the sky like a big pizza pie'). But I had forgotten about:

I'll have to let you know what else I uncover. In the meantime, how about you? Are you thinking of downsizing your music collection? I have to admit that since the advent of Songza and other streaming music apps, I am feeling less and less attached to having a digital collection of my own music. When I was younger I certainly used to horde digital music files. Now I just don't care. :P

Just For Fun Friday!

This week for a fun Friday I thought I would do something a little different. Instead of my latest favorite jam, I'm going to feature a track that I love because of its writerly nature. "Let's Not Talk About Love" is an ancient song, but one for which the lyrics are fast paced,clever and fun. Sure, some of the references are super dated, but maybe that adds to its charm?

At any rate, every time I listen to it I feel inspired to write a poem...or something short but witty.

And because I'm a music nerd, I've included two versions:

So fun! Have a great weekend!

Music that Inspired RoboNomics Chapter 12

Well, here it is: the music that inspired RoboNomics' next chapter.

Chapter 12 is a small chapter, but by no means lacking in action and excitement. There's a big reveal, so I don't know that I want to say much more about the chapter other than that. Instead, I'll let the music do the talking: 



Hope you enjoy it! And don't forget, RoboNomics Chapter 12 comes out on Wattpad this Monday, March 31 at midnight EDT! Can't wait for you to read it! :)

Literature Inspires Music Inspires...

This blog, so far, has been about songs that are inspiring for writers in general, writers of fiction more specifically, and me in particular.

But there are quite a lot of songs out there that have been inspired by literature. From epic fantasy or Western canon novels to poems to characters, these are just a few of my favourite songs that have been inspired by literary works:


And of course, in a full circle manner, I have to admit that I find some of these songs inspiring in their own right. The great thing about human creation, human specificity of situation and the human brain is that each and every one of these creations can inspire us all in different ways: calling up different memories and different associations, rearranging and melting together until something new, and sometimes unexpected, comes to light and reveals itself as a piece of art.

Revolution/Evolution

So the other day I was thinking about my novel, RoboNomics. Sheesh, what else do I think about these days?

But for the longest time I've been constructing this novel with the idea that I want people who read it to be scared. I want them to think about the trials of my main character, Andrea Anderson, and the fact that her intellectual industry job (schoolteacher) has become obsolete because of a robot with advanced artificial intelligence and think, "Geez, that could be me."

I wanted it to be a novel about how dystopias happen. There are no many science fiction narratives out there in the world that are about dystopias after the bad shit has gone down. And a lot of robot and artificial intelligence take overs follow this format. So on top of RoboNomics being a metaphor for the 2008 global economic crisis (something no one could have imagined back in 2006 or so), I wanted it to go from a normal world, familiar to a reader in say, modern Toronto, to a dystopia.

So far, some the comments I've had on the story have been more along the lines of "That would never happen here," than of "oh my god that could so easily happen to me," which is interesting and not all that surprising. But then I think of the thousands of times this sort of thing has happened before: the total breakdown of a political system, a social contract. I think of the 1990s, when Yugoslavia went from having the world's highest rated quality of life to being a war zone. My point is, stranger things happened in reality than could ever occur in my fiction...

But there's a word for that, isn't there? Whenever a social or political system changes, wherever it slides from comfortable apathy to dystopia: Revolution. Upheaval that lasts only a little while or a long while, until a new political agreement is reached (or imposed) and a new normal is established.

And so, here's my playlist for today -- songs for a robotic revolution of a different kind:



And don't mind the bit of music geekery book ending the playlist. I just had to include a song performed what? 50 years apart. Perfect. 

Just for Fun...Thursday?

Okay, so I was going to do this tomorrow...but by then it would be too late.

Because besides being the Vernal Equinox today is my BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

I've always loved my birthday. Ever since I was a kid, I thought it meant something super special that I was born on March 20th, the first day of spring. (No, not March 21 most years you silly Gregorian calendar ninnies....)

When I was turning something like 20 or 21 (so we're talking 2001 or 2002 here), I had some friends in my uni dorm who were as excited as I was to celebrate my bday. So they trotted into my room after classes and one of my buds sat down at my computer, opened Napster (hey, it was 2001!) and downloaded a track for me. Then he hit play and declared that that was my birthday present from him:

It's funny. I've long, long since lost all track of that friend. It's not only that we've fallen out of touch, I just have no idea where he is. I think it was one of those early 20-something things that happen where he dated one of my friends and then they broke up and I was obliged to be on her side and then he starting dating someone else and then....

Well, you've probably been there. But I have never forgotten about that gift or that song. And not a year goes by that I don't listen to it. It's such a great '90s track, such a great '90s video. And it always reminds me how awesome my birthday is! :)

Music that Inspired RoboNomics Chapter 11

So I know that over the past two and a half months (has it really been that long?) I have been posting these 'inspirational' playlists on Thursdays. But this week, two things are happening:

1. I'm super excited about Chapter 11, coming up on wattpad.com this coming Monday, March 24 at midnight.

2. I'm not sure what to write about this week. I wrote about this topic in a really loopy entry on my other blog, but when it comes to that primary blog, I've already got another idea for tomorrow. Woot! But when it comes to inspirational music for authors of fiction, well -- I'm a little short of inspiration today.

And so instead I'll tell you about the upcoming Chapter of RoboNomics:

When we last left our heroine, Andrea Anderson, she had just left her friends in the throes of the protest that was quickly devolving into a riot. She's off to find Chris and the other former garbage collectors, who have been absence for the protest so far.

But in Chapter 11, she catches up to them. And what they're about to do makes Andrea complicit in a criminal plot. But does that mean she'll refuse to help them?

I hope you enjoy this week's playlist! Don't forget to check out RoboNomics Chapter 11 on wattpad when it comes out: Monday, March 24, 2014!
 

Just for Fun Friday!

Oh, man! What a week! I was much, much busier than I thought I would be with the day job, but I managed to get you all your weekly blog posts! But today's, however, I am going to have to dip back in my Fun track files (which I keep very well organized In My Mind filing system) rather than making a new discovery. Hope you don't mind. I really do need to move onto more important things today, like -- oh, I don't know, line editing RoboNomics Chapter 10 (which usually gets done on Wednesdays!)

Alright, enough whining from me, here is your Fun Friday track:

Yay! Makes me happy every time! Enjoy your Friday! :)

Music that Inspired RoboNomics Chapter 10!

Hey everyone! It's that time of the week again! Time to reveal some of the tracks that inspired me in writing RoboNomics. This week it's Chapter 10 -- a big, actiony chapter that leads into the part of RoboNomics during which shit really goes down.

As may be obvious from some of the songs that I've included this week, the protest against the Ontario government's bill -- which proposes to abolish unions in the province -- takes place. The logic behind the proposed legislation is the fact that because so many jobs have become automated, the members of unions in the province are organized around something that is obsolete -- human labour.

However, the protest doesn't exactly go smoothly for Andrea and her friends. Chris, the leader of their group and the person who fought them to hold the protest, is no where to be found. Thousands of people show up in front of the Ontario legislature. Those numbers prove too much for the little protest group to control, especially without their leader.

And then robots get involved in the chaos...

)

Don't forget to check out RoboNomics Chapter 10 when it's released on Monday, March 17 (St. Patrick's Day) at midnight EDT! Can't wait for you to read it!

Exploring the Darker Side

One of the pieces of writing advice that I've in tons of different 'how-to write fiction' books and articles is to get to know your antagonist. Stories don't work if the antagonistic character or forces, so goes the advice, does not have compelling, convincing motivation for their actions. A writer should get to know their villain from the inside out, to make a flawed, complicated, convincing human character rather than a silly caricature.

And lately I've heard a few songs that are dark enough, with deep enough bass that remind me of that dark side that we all. That side of human emotion and experience from which I personally drawn on for my fictional antagonists. And so this week I'd like to present my playlist of Villain Theme Songs:



Some of them might be heavy handed. But I find that I require to a heavily creepy soundtrack to get into the right mood to write a villain from the inside out.

But writing a villian, an antagonistic person or force, is more than just 'getting to know you'. About six months ago I had a conversation with one of  my friends who's into acting. He said that when you play an evil character on screen or stage, you have to look inside yourself for material. In other words, whatever evil you bring to the character is also inside of you.

Writing a character can be like that as well: all of their motivations, all of their nefarious intentions and evil plots are something that I, as the writer (or you as the write) can tap into.

So let's think of this playlist as one that you can listen to tap into your dark, antagonistic side. ;)

This is just a sampling, of course. And you probably have some of your own favorite villain themes. Care to share? :)

Just for Fun Friday

This is going to be a weird one for me. Hedley. Huh. Up until their past two songs releases, I could not stand this band. But now I find I have an affection for their catchy pop hooks.

So what is going on with me lately? I fear I've reached that phase in life when one's musical tastes go from impeccable to total crap. Seriously, if my 16 year old self was transported forward in time to today, she'd sneer at Hedley and listen instead to oh -- I don't know -- Chvrches -- or more likely Metric.

Not that I don't like those bands, but you get the point. I would never have listened to anything so... happy before now. Anyways, I really hope this doesn't mean that I'll have to start wearing matching velour jumpsuits outside or like, khakis and sweater sets as I drive around a giant SUV. Haha.

All right. Enough speculation. Let's just enjoy the song and the fact that it's Friday:

Music that Inspired RoboNomics Chapter 9

Hey Everyone! So RoboNomics Chapter 9 is coming up this Monday, March 10th. Are you ready? In this chapter, Andrea gets closer to Chris, but she also finds out how dangerous he is. Meanwhile, she and Austin are trying to figure out how to avoid losing their home. Both have become obsolete in their respective jobs, and they don't know how they can make ends meet. Will they lose their home? And what happens if they do? Will Andrea have no choice but to rely on Chris and his volatile personality?

Better check it out on Wattpad this coming Monday to find out! In the meantime, here's a playlist of tracks that inspired the chapter, as taste of what's to come:

I Need Some Motivation to Write!

Yesterday, on my other blog, I wrote about how I had to deal with trolls for the first time as it relates to my writing. I already wrote about what I have done in response, but I wanted to follow it up with some awesome tracks that help me get back to being a determined, persistent artist who wants to succeed. That, instead of a wallowing pile of self-pity.



My musical way of saying fuck you, trolls!

Just for Fun Friday!

A quick note today: still transitioning back into a normal life with my darling actually at home. It's been remarkably busy. But at least now the constant, unending stress is gone and we now know where we are moving to: back to Ontario! So even though I've posted this song like, three times, I think it warrants another. And not only for the beautiful scenes of Ontario summer featured within:

Have a great weekend, everyone! Also yay! No more February! :)

Just for Fun Friday!!

This probably should have been last week, since they were on the Colbert Show last week.

Holy crap. I love it when I discover a band that sounds that amazing live. No processing needed, no funky audio bits or frills. Just an amazing voice, good instrumentation, a double bass and that feeling like you've stepped suddenly into peppy, upbeat rom-com soundtrack. Perfect for your V-Day. Especially good for this -- the HAPPIEST day I've had for the past three and a half years. But more on that on the other blog next week. ;)

Love it. No, Love Love it. So fun.

Music that Inspired RoboNomics Chapter 7

Well, kids, RoboNomics Chapter 7 comes out this coming Monday. I can't believe that it's been six chapters and more than that -- over 700 reads! I'm actually surprised that anyone would even be interested in this bit of shitty folly I call writing. All right -- that was false humility if ever I've seen it. Silly me.

Anyways, in Chapter 7 the particularly harsh winter has melted into spring in near-future Toronto as it always inevitably does. But Andrea's problems do not get better as time rolls on. In fact, the landscape of the city is changing rapidly with more and more wandering the streets, looking for employment of any kind. This spells trouble for Andrea's friends, who don't know what to do next. There's always the Protest Group, but joining it would mean aligning themselves with known criminals...



I'm excited about this next chapter! I'm also kind of excited about my other project. Just a little experiment to see what kind of response my YA fantasy writing gets on Wattpad....

Sounds into Words into Settings

I once wrote on my other blog about the system I use for establishing, editing and revising description. In that post, I wrote that sound was the most important, for me, of the senses. When thinking about fictional settings, the sight of it is primary in its establishment. Smell is secondary because it gives fictional scenes texture and a history. But sound, perhaps because I am an audiophile, gives a sense life and dimension. Without sounds, I think, scenes can fall flat.

But sometimes it's difficult to remember what things sound like. So that's when I turn to my perennial friend, YouTube. I've heard academics, back when I was a part of that world, denigrate the internet as a tool of research. But I don't care. I am old enough to remember the world before all of its collected knowledge was uploaded to accessible servers, and I'd much rather things were this way. Where else would I be able to access such boring but essential recordings as these:



There are so many sound clips like this on YouTube, all that can be used for remembering how things sound. Nothing can replace being there on the scene with notebook at the ready to describe things, but sometimes life gets the way, memory fades, setting that require descriptions are not readily accessible. In those cases, thank you Internets! :)

Just for Fun Friday!

Yay! It's Friday already/finally. Do you ever feel that way? You've been waiting for something for what feels like an eternity and then suddenly it creeps up on you and it's like, "oh. I thought I had another eternity to wait." Well, let's celebrate this little milestone at any rate. Another week closer to it being not February. Not February is so much better than February.

I am loving this track lately. And then I saw the video. It has an alternative/grunge '90s throwback vibe. Ah, nostalgia. To be 15 again. :P

Music that Inspired RoboNomics Chapter 6

Hey everyone! Another edition of the RoboNomics soundtrack coming at you! RoboNomics Chapter 6 will be on Wattpad on Monday, February 10 at midnight EST! Chapter 6 is back to material that is more polished than Chapters 3 to 5 turned out to be. But if you go over to wattpad to check it out (I don't think you need an account to read), please let me know via wattpad comments or Google+ comments on this blog post or even via tweet what you thought of it. I need some constructive criticisms!!

Also, in the next day or so I will be uploading some sweet sweet Chapter 6 preview pictures to Twitter. So watch out for that. I have been seriously thinking of throwing up some bits of other projects onto wattpad. Especially that Epic Fantasy YA business I keep banging on about. But that will be more of a fun experiment to see what sort of response I get so I won't be compiling playlists or making pictures or promoting it very much. Basically I want to see if that work can stand on its on a website of stories that is populated by 65% young adults.

But enough about that. In the meantime, back to Chapter 6. In Chapter 6, we find Andrea struggling with unemployment and a world that is increasingly filled with automated processes and robots that replace humans in their jobs. She is worried about how her and Austin's income has been drastically cut, but then something unexpected happens that makes her troubles a lot more serious.

The Origin Story

So I was initially going to put this on an 'About' page that I had plans to create for this blog. But I think the story actually deserves to have a post of its own, before it gets relegated to surrounding copy. And so I'll begin: the story of how I was first inspired by music.

Once Upon a Time...

There was a young seven year old girl -- me -- going to school in a suburban neighborhood east of the capital city of Canada. As was tradition for the schools in that part of the world (and still is, probably) one day a high school band came to visit my school. The teachers all rounded us up and brought us into the gym. We had to sit on the achingly cold floor with our legs crossed. It was torture. Or at least it was until the band began to play.

One can learn a lot from hindsight. For instance, later I joined my high school's band. And we were horrible musicians -- muddling through mostly pops, Broadway or jazz arrangements. But to my child's undeveloped ear, I felt as though I had never heard anything so beautiful. I remember that I closed my eyes and listened to the whole concert sitting still. And that's when it first happened. That's when I could picture -- I thought because of the music -- a story take place before my mind's eye. Characters came to life that I'd never heard of and had conflicts with each other that perhaps were not original but were still thrilling for a seven year old.

Later, when I was older, my high school band did the same thing as that one had -- we went on a tour of the "feeder schools" as the teachers called them and played for the little kids of the neighborhood. I remember looking out across the masses of children and seeing them bobbing around in places to the music -- dancing with abandon as only children can while the teachers attempted to keep them in one place. It struck me then as now how odd I must have looked to other seven year olds and teachers alike: this tiny kid sitting still with her eyes closed. But then that's just the sort of child I was. Sometimes, while I was in elementary school, I used to have contests with myself to see how long I could sit without moving a muscle. I never told anyone -- I'd just watch the clock on the classroom wall and keep track of how long I could be motionless. Just to know.

At any rate, it wasn't until a couple years later that I put pen to paper in an attempt to record a story for the first time. By that time, the infamous concert how grown into legend in my mind and I remembered it as being a symphony of the highest caliber. This idea was exaggerated by the fact that for Christmas that year I received a two volume set of "Classical Essentials" or some such other title. Did I forget to mention it was two tapes? Yes, I am that old!

That's when things really took off, in terms of imagining to music. And it's also why even now, some of my most inspiring tracks are classical ones. But that's not where it ended. I started to imagine things when I looked out the window of the car on those long drives to Grandma's house. On those occasions, the car radio was usually take over by my parents, who had a penchant for hits of the '60s and Leonard Cohen:

It strikes me that early exposure to a poet/songwriter might be behind the fact that lyrics are probably the most important aspects of pop songs for me. Whatever it was, it wasn't a far jump from imagining stories to those types of songs to transferring that skill to all songs with words. And so a habit was formed that would last my entire life: the habit of listening to music as a way of avoiding writer's block. Like they say, music can soothe the savage beast -- which I interpret to mean that music has a way of coaxing the (sometimes) savage muse to come out and play! :)

How about you? Is listening to music a habit that you have in your writing or creating?

Just for Fun Friday!

Have you heard this song? I totally thought it was some massive hit since on my Friday drives out to see my darling, it has been blowing up my radio stations. But it's very mysterious. I can't find any info on it, other than it is by some group called The Angry Kids who have a single video -- the one below. And it has a mere 74,000 (or thereabouts) views. Not much for a music video.

Some of the mystery surrounding The Angry Kids is dispelled once you clicked through to their Facebook page. But still -- on the rest of their platforms, I am actually loving the mystery. And I am love love loving this song. Don't be surprised if it winds up on one of my "Music that inspired RoboNomics" soundtracks!

Music that Inspired RoboNomics Chapter 5!

Hey everyone! Another week, another chapter soundtrack. Chapter 5 is a big one!

In this chapter, which you can read over on wattpad.com, Andrea has to prepare for the RoboNomics press conference -- in more ways than one. Not only has she been asked by Jay to hand out namecards with the robot that took her job, but she's also been recruited by Chris to sabotage the presentation of the RoboNomics' Interactive Instructions Units to the world. Who will she help? And what will happen at the press conference? You'll have to read Chapter 5 to find out!

Mark your calendars -- Chapter 5 drops this coming Monday, February 3rd at midnight EST!

The Problem with Movie Music

I'll admit it: I listen to quite a lot of soundtracks. Having no lyrics, I find that movie soundtracks are great background music for times when I really have to focus on the written word: when imagining new scenes, when drafting those scenes or when revising. They are atmospheric enough to make me feel what I am trying to write without being too distracting.

Most of the time.

But there's a problem with Movie Music. Take one of my favorite tracks in any movie ever, Yoda's Theme:

It's an amazing piece of music. But just try and listen to it without automatically visualizing Yoda. He's using the force, isn't he? He's using the force to lift Luke's fighter-plane-spaceship thingy out of the swamp, isn't he? It can be a huge problem when trying to  imagine new scenes or plot points for a novel or for trying to imagine new stories. It also distracts when attempting to draft those scenes and during revision. The visuals that are undeniably called up when listening to an iconic track can be just as distracting, for me, as lyrics tend to be.

I find that there are two really good ways around this. The first is to listen to soundtracks of movies I've never seen. Philip Glass is usually a pretty good bet:

Unless you've seen the movie "Koyaanisqatsi" I'm guessing that you're like me and you have absolutely no mental pictures attached to that track.

The other way around becoming distracted by movie soundtrack is to have a bad memory. Now, I realize that not everyone can achieve this. I am a little lucky in this respect, in that if I've seen a movie once, I don't remember it. Unless it was completely and utterly mind blowing, I couldn't tell you anything about the characters' names or more importantly the plot points of a movie after having seen it a single time. And so I get to listen to some fun tracks from iconic movie without having any distracting mental activity. Such as:

Yep, I've only seen that movie once. Yes, it was an interesting movie, of the sort that I enjoy most: speculative, makes you think. But I don't really remember the scene that corresponds to that track in any detail. Maybe people were falling? Or am I thinking of the Simpsons send-up of Inception? I have no idea.

So I'm free, because of my own bad memory, to allow the music to help me imagine whatever scene or plot point I like. Or rather, I am free experience whatever my fertile imagination comes up with when I listen to that track. As for Yoda's Theme -- it, for good or bad, will always be Yoda's Theme and nothing else.

Just for Fun Friday!

In love with this song! And there's been more than one the bird and the bee song lately that I've discovered! There's nothing quite like the feeling of discovering a great new (to you) artist! Addicted to novelty? Why, yes I am! :)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Music that Inspired RoboNomics Chapter 4

Hey, all! Welcome to another installment of soundtrack preview for RoboNomics. Chapter 4 is coming out on Wattpad Monday, January 27th at midnight EST! Excited? I know I'm excited for you to read it!

In Chapter 4, we find Andrea coping with the day of day of her post-teaching existence. She's come back to the United Workers Protest Group headquarters and she's working at her robot technician job part-time at her old school. However, things are not straightforward in the new job. She makes a discover about the teaching android, the I.I.U., that is frightening...but also opens up a possibility for the Protest Group to really make some waves. The question is, will Andrea let them?

While I was working on the chapter this week, here's some of the tracks that inspired me:

Fantastical Music

Today I thought I'd take you through some of my classics of inspiration when it comes to writing fantasy plots.


It's quite a mix, isn't it? And yet it is so easy for to curate all the songs that have, throughout the years, inspired me to write fantasy. It is my first genre. Some of the tracks are not surprising: In the Hall of the Mountain King and the Lord of the Rings-inspired Ramble On.

However it also struck me, while I was putting together this playlist, that many of my "fantastical" songs are very young and hopeful in nature. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that when I think fantasy, I think young adult novels. Just the nature of my project, I suppose.

I've tried to front-load some of the more peppy, youthful songs and have the list of the list contain more of the predictable or strange, dark songs. Songs about traveling, songs about far-off places. This is my personal list of songs that inspire fables, fairy tales, fantastical adventures. I hope you enjoy!

Music that Inspired RoboNomics Chapter 3

Hey everyone! I'm working on some stuff for my other blog, as well as working hard on RoboNomics Chapter 3! While you wait for all that to be complete, enjoy the soundtrack to Chapter 3:



Hey at least I managed to get a Chapter 3 preview pic out! Lots of work this week!

Music for Revision

I'm working on some editing and revision bits today and so I thought I'd post up a playlist of the songs I prefer to listen to while undertaking such tasks.

For me, I need to do my revisions and editing with as little distraction as possible. Since the tasks involve heavy amounts of reading one's own work, what I need most is focus. And being a wordy sort, I just can't focus when someone is singing words that I understand or want to understand.

Drafting is a different story. When I am writing a first draft or when I am brainstorming I can let my mind wander as much as I want. I can sit at a desk with music playing of any sort and just let the ideas come. But for revision, I turn to one of three main types of music for concentration: symphonies/classical music, trippy or sparse ambient soundscapes, or movie scores.



You'll notice a lot of those tracks are looooong. That's good for me. The longer, the better. Even a jarring transition from one short song to the next can be distraction enough. But the funniest thing about editing and revision, for me, is that I pretty much always need to have music playing. If I don't, the silence is almost as distracting as having lyric-heavy ditties playing in the background.

What about you? Can you concentrate on editing if you're listening to singing?

Just for Fun Friday

This might become a series. A song on a nice Friday to kick off your weekend. A song that inspires me, gets me revved up, motivates me to write, or feels atmospheric. For this week, It's "Needle" by Born Ruffians.

I don't know what it is about this song. It starts off feeling depressing. But there's something about the chorus that really gets me pumped. And then there's something about the lyrics that makes me feel as if I could write the character who would sing along with all earnestness.

What are you listening to on this fine Friday morning? Soundtracks for writing Action scenes? Love Scenes? or perhaps some wordless soundscapes for revision?

Music that Inspired RoboNomics Chapter 2

See? I told you! RoboNomics is taking over this blog! But I promise this will be the last week that I will have two posts concerning the serial novel since I intend these playlists in particular to be little tantalizing previews of Next Monday's Chapter. That first chapter playlist was just a catch-up since this is the first week back from holidays.

So the format of this blog will go from a once a week entry to a twice a week entry: one concerning RoboNomics inspiration, and the other concerning music that inspires other aspects of the writing process in general. Cool. All right. Now onto the list!


There's no way you can figure out what will happen in the chapter by listening to the music. That's not really the point of the list. Think of it more as a soundtrack to the chapter or the soundtrack to my frame of mind when I wrote the first draft.

Music that Inspired RoboNomics - Chapter 1

Hey everyone! Back from holidays. And I'm afraid that my big 2014 project -- RoboNomics in serial form -- is going to occupy quite a lot of this blog.

And so, in celebration of my having guts enough to release my work into the world, I give you a very special playlist: the songs that inspired RoboNomics Chapter 1: