Music Monday - The Smashing Smashing Pumpkins!

Yay! It's Pumpkin time again!

As you know, I love The Smashing Pumpkins. So tonight I've got a nice playlist full of all sorts of pumpkiny good ear candy for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-KE9lvU810&list=PL73ED73D17641F307

Have a meditative evening...

Cherish the Handsome Cabin Boy

Just a little sea shanty a la Kate Bush:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDn_3VysILs

While this song doesn't have anything to do with the story I'm writing, it does suit the passion of the protagonist's love of all things seaworthy.

Music Monday - Danny Elfman

Ever since his days with Oingo Boingo, or should I say The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo? Danny Elfman has proven himself to be one of the most recognizable musical talents out there.

This playlist devoted Danny Elfman covers a very large range of his body of work. But then we're talking Danny Elfman, so there's a whole lot more out there besides.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJJ8krHbWJU&list=PL18A0B0C943A00A62

Have a meditative evening.

Cherish Inspiration

Photo By Korall (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
Text by Lee Lane 

 I see this question from time to time when it comes to where and how writers, artisans, singers, songwriters etc. get their inspiration?

I've seen it answered in many different and wonderful ways. The following is my take on where and how inspiration comes:

Here goes--

Eating at Restaurants:

Have you ever been seated in a restaurant waiting for your order when all of a sudden something someone says in the next booth or table near you pops into your ear. No, I don't mean eavesdropping. I simply mean that something about what someone says or even the way that they say it stands out.

This happens when I go to church or other places, too. Wherever there are people having conversations or giving talks, something someone says will generally stand out in a way that I feel inspired.

A good example of this would be the time I heard two girls talking about something.

"Today! Today I saw her!."

"Really?"

"Yes! She was so beautiful -- "

Well, instantly my mind went into high gear creating a scene that's in the second book of this series.

Web Wandering:

Might start out as -- Ooh! I wonder how much a migrating swallow actually can carry? But then as I'm researching that little germ of an idea something that pertains to what I'm writing or what I might like to write pops out at me all come hither like. So I grab hold of that with a C and a P into a Wordpad Document and, 1. file it away or, 2. use it right then and there.

And sometimes it's a song that captures a mood, a feeling, the emotion of an interaction enabling me to distill it into my own words and scenes.

So, I think the answer to the question that started this blog entry is simply this: inspiration can come from anywhere and everywhere -- so get ready, set -- GO!

Get out there and tell your own story, paint your own painting, sing your own song, start your own business or whatever else your heart is telling you to do.

Have a beautiful rest of your Sunday, my friends!

Music Monday - Fantasy Film Soundtracks

This first playlist contains:
1.Avatar - James Horner
2.Chronicles of Narnia 1 - Harry Gregson-Williams
3.Edward Sccisorhands - Danny Elfman
4.Casper - James Horner
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaSGDK8RLr4

52 songs at the following from Oz, Legend, Neverending Story and more:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOceFeiwWRM&list=PLD347ACD3DB810202

Have a meditative evening.

Prayer, Faith, Writing

Things went from bad to worse the other day and I really didn't know what I would do, but I did get on my knees and pray like a failing student before Final Exams. (I can honestly say that I was a failing student who prayed before Final Exams and received a rather miraculous B. My Math Teacher was flabbergasted. I HAD to get at least a B to pass. But I digress.)

I find it difficult to stay on point with my writing when bad things are happening around or to me, though I have had some surprising bursts of creativity while ill. I'm sure I'm not the only writer out there who feels a halt in the flow of their creative juices when troubles arise. However, how many of the great writers out there sat in icy garrets with only a candle to warm them and a dry crust of bread for a meal and yet managed to scribble away on the next great novel with a driven madness? Probably more of them than is known.

Was it that sense of "got nothing else to lose" that got them through those tough times or was it the creative fire inside of them that kept them going?

I like to think that it was God, even if they didn't know it at the time.

Have a pleasant Sunday evening, my friends.

Music Monday - Kings of Leon

I discovered these guys, gosh, it's been a while back and I've been enjoying them ever since. If you haven't heard them before, you're in for a treat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idjYP7lpFso&list=PLD722104C13338BEE

Have a meditative evening.