Music gets me in the mood .... to write.
Yes, to write. Get your minds out of the gutter.
Music has a special place in my heart. From an elementary school band geek, to an 'All American' Marching Band All-Star at Purdue, music was a fun, creative outlet. And I'll be honest, if Jerry Jones wanted to give the Cowgirls a boost with a professional marching band comprised of middle-aged adults cleaving to their 'this one time in band camp' hay-day... Well, I'd be first in line with my piccolo tucked beneath my arm. But when I started on this adventure into authorland, music became the quickest inspiration that wasn't .... Sinspiration.
A song can pop on and scenes start to materialize. I get lost in the rhythm and tone. So much so I've forgotten where I'm driving to and ended up at work (b/c my hospital is magnetic north) and never even meant to get on the highway. Lyrics, like writing have an ebb and flow that can sizzle with tension, or slink with sensuality. It's to me, (an uncultured boob) the essence of art. Paint to canvas, notes in a frame, words on the page; they are a bunch of random nonsense strung together to create a feeling.
Sometimes it's a feeling of What The Fuck... but a feeling nonetheless.
I have some favorites. They are theme-y songs that I tend to fall back on when I need to find a mood I'm not already in. I'm a complex and all around amazing women, but I have yet to achieve the kind of clarity that allows me to write light and frothy, or sweet and steamy if I'm not already hovering in that mood.
I am a writer who will spend her life at the mercy of 'pantsing.' I don't have a super clear vision for how a story will unfold and how the characters I've created will emotionally react. I have to be aware of what i call 'emotional author intrusion.' Just b/c I had a shit day doesn't mean I need to take it out on my characters. The emotional journey needs to be theirs, not mine.
An author might write herself into every character she creates, but music can help find the sweet spot between a character's voice and the 'voice' of ellis kaye.
