Musical Monday: NaNoWriMo Playlist & The Song of the Week

It’s absolutely incredible how fast time flies. Here we are on October 31st, one day away from the start of NaNoWriMo.

I’ve been doing some super prep work these past two weeks – researching locations and backgrounds on a few new characters (I think that’s as close to plotting as I get these days), getting Scrivener and all of my research set up on my PC so I can hit the ground running tomorrow (after the day job, of course), and convincing my Muse that November is not a good month for a vacation <— God I hope she listens!

One other task I’ve undertaken, this past weekend in particular, is meticulously selecting the perfect music for my writing playlist. In writing, music sets the tone – it evokes the feeling you’re after in a particular scene. Sometimes, you can get so lost in the words, the music just seems to fade away. Other times, it’s there to push you through to the end of a difficult scene. Whatever your reason for selecting the perfect soundtrack for your writing, music is an intricate part of the process.

Here is my NaNoWriMo playlist – which will also be updated on my ‘playlist’ tab – and links to each of the songs on YouTube. There’s always the chance that not all of these songs will be used, and the list just might actually grow as I get further into the writing. But for now, this is what it looks like – in no particular order – and you may notice I’ve got quite a few themes going on:

Another Way to Die by Disturbed
The Bleeding by Five Finger Death Punch
Alone by Bullet for My Valentine
Closer to the Edge by 30 Seconds to Mars
Uprising by Muse
21 Guns by Green Day
Misguided Ghosts by Paramore
Glycerine by Bush
Map of the Problematique by Muse
Feel it in My Bones by Tiesto featuring Tegan and Sara
Fuel by Metallica
Crawling by Linkin Park
The Show Must Go On by Queen
Haunted by Evanescence
Releasing the Demons by Godsmack
City of Delusion by Muse
Attack by 30 Seconds to Mars
Hero by Skillet
Unnatural Selection by Muse
Symphony of Destruction by Megadeath
Place for My Head by Linkin Park
Voodoo by Godsmack
Your Betrayal by Bullet for My Valentine
Jesus (Don’t Touch My Baby) by Ryan Adams
Con-Science by Muse
Serenity by Godsmack
Piano Thing by Muse
Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve
Knights of Cydonia by Muse
Seek and Destroy by Metallica
The Kill by 30 Seconds to Mars
Conspiracy by Paramore
Beautiful Tragedy by In This Moment
Let the Flames Begin by Paramore
Kings and Queens by 30 Seconds to Mars
Woman King by Iron and Wine

Now onto our Song of the Week:

‘Night of the Hunter’ by 30 Seconds to Mars. No matter where I am or what I’m doing, there’s always a song by these guys that fits the situation perfectly.

I hope you enjoy! :0)

Happy Reading & Writing!!!

Melinda

Song of the Week: The Promise by In This Moment

Happy Monday everyone!!!

Today's song is one that I haven't been able to stop listening to for the past week! And I must give credit where credit is due: my husband. :)

He found this band after searching for new female-lead rock bands. When he came across this song, he told me that I had to listen to it because it would fuel my writing. And you know what? He was right!!  I'm an urban fantasy and paranormal romance writer, so this song - and the video - was right up my alley!

Hope you enjoy!

Happy Reading & Writing!!!

Melinda

This Week In Favs……….

10) “The Big Post of Querying” by Kat Zhang on The Katacomb.. This particular post was in response to a question posed to Kat in regards to how she went about querying – which is a daunting task that I think all aspiring authors tend to get the heebe-jeebes about (I know I do). I love Kat’s honesty in her postings. It’s incredibly refreshing and it’s encouraging to hear that within two months of querying, she found herself an agent. I think I’ll be looking to follow some of the advice she gives here. I also couldn’t stop laughing at this twitter conversation she posted. Thanks, Kat…hope you survive the reenactments!

9) I’ve discovered a great writing blog: Miss Snark’s First Victim: A Blog for Aspiring Authors. This particular blog caught my eye as I was reading Kat Zhang’s post (see #10 above). The ‘Authoress’ is anonymous, but she holds monthly (except for June & December) “Secret Agent” contests (aka First Page Shooters) where aspiring authors can send in the first 250 words of their MS, and the Authoress will post 50 entries for comments from other writers and the ‘Secret Agent’. This particular blog is a 2009 winner of the Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers, and I’m enjoying perusing through the first pages of other writers and learning from them on what works, and what doesn’t work. This is definitely one contest I may find myself entering once my current WIP is polished.

8) Susan (aka: Harry Potter for Writers) is now offering New Editorial Services! I guess I know who I’m going to seek a critique from when it comes time to start sending out queries. Believe me, I trust Susan to be completely open and honest when it comes to critiques on queries, synopsis, and first chapters. Her posts prove she’s got a knack for breaking down the writing and pointing out, not only the good sections, but the trouble sections as well. If I can make her want to read my MS with my query or synopsis, then I know I’ll get some requests from agents in the query process.

7) In conjunction with #9 in this post: “First Page Tips from the Pros” by Becca Puglisi on The Bookshelf Muse. Now, if you’re not following The Bookshelf Muse, then as a writer, you’re seriously missing out!! I literally spent about 5 hours so far this week perusing through their thesauruses again. I might as well take the time, paper and ink to just print every entry on emotions, character traits, settings and weather. Each one comes in handy during each stage of the writing process – especially editing.    
 
6) “Conquering Writer’s Block – When the Writing Gets Tough, the Writer Gets Tougher” by Lydia Sharp on The Sharp Angle. There are no words…..literally. I just can’t come up with how this perfectly gives a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a novel.

5) Another So You Think You Can Dance goodie!!! As we get closer and closer to deciding who America’s favorite dancer is, the pieces continue to get better and better. This week, I had 4 dances that I really wanted to highlight here, but I will settle with just 2:

Jordan & Tadd: This routine, choreographed by the wonderfully talented Travis Wall – no, I don’t have a crush. He’s just THAT good! I looooved this piece. Intensely beautiful!

Melanie & Marko: These two dancers were previously highlighted for their outstanding ‘statue dance’ a few weeks ago (if you haven’t seen it yet, here’s a link to that post). These two dancers have proved time and time again that they are the ones to beat in this competition, and once again, I had goosebumps!! The song they danced to, “Skin and Bones” by David J. Roch? Wow! That one has now been added to my writing playlist, and I have the perfect scene to run it on a loop to while editing!

4) “The Beauty of Books: Why The Literary vs. Genre Debate Isn’t Necessary” by Roni Loren of Fiction Groupie. Roni’s post on Wednesday, “How Fast Do You Have to Write to Build a Successful Career?”, moved a fellow blogger to comment, which then sparked into this wonderful post, opening the door to a great topic of discussion. Why don’t we let this one speak for itself, shall we? “The value and beauty of books is what they do for the reader. So if someone reads a literary memoir about the Holocaust and it makes them connect with the past and feel the anguish of what those people went through, that’s a powerful thing. However, if a woman is reading a romance in a hospital while she cares for her sick child and is able to escape from the current sadness in her own world, that is just as powerful in my opinion.” Right on, Roni!

3) “When a Character Won’t Cooperate” by Karen Essex, guest post on Writer Unboxed.  Listening to your characters is one of the most important things you can do when you’re writing. Karen learned this the same way I did: wanting my MC to be a strong, no holds-barred, independent female from the get-go. But then Avalyn spoke: “Where could I go from there? Why would anyone be interested in me if I didn’t grow into that?” A-ha! *lightbulb dings over my head**initial opening scene chucked* Listen to your MC, Muse, or whatever you call it! You may not like what they have to say, but somehow, they know what’s right and wrong in their story!

2) “Should We Write To Trends?” by Lisa Gail Green on Paranormal Point of View. This is exactly why I love the writing community. Everyone is open and honest and THEY GET IT!! Especially Lisa. Just because dystopians are hot right now, does not mean I should start writing it. Why? 2 reasons: 1: It may not be hot in two years when the times comes for the book to hit the shelves, 2: It’s not what’s in my heart! What is? Paranormal Romance (PNR) and Urban Fantasy(UF). Those genres are what make me tick. I enjoy reading them (although I will also read other genres also…if they’re THAT good), thus I thoroughly enjoy writing them. It’s a world I’m comfortable in. I can lay it all out on the page when I’m writing in this genre. Thank you, Lisa! YOU ROCK!

1) Here’s a fun video that I hope you’ll enjoy as much as I did. It’s called ‘Plot Device’. Description: “A young filmmaker obtains a mysterious device that unleashed the full force of cinema on his front lawn.” Writers, readers and movie-lovers alike will enjoy this. I found myself cracking up a few times. It’s a little long (at 9 min), but well worth the time!

Happy Reading Everyone!!!


Melinda

Song of the Week: Butterflies and Hurricanes by Muse

The theme for this week’s song is: “What's it to ya?”

Personally, this particular song holds many meanings, and not just for me. Each one of the characters in my MS had a moment, whether in their '’behind the scenes’ backstories or in the middle of the page that called for this song to played in the background.

The personal meanings to them?

“Time to take a chance!”

“Now’s your moment!”

“Change it. Change everything about you. You’re no longer who you thought you were.”

“Never give up!!” 


So tell me, what does this song say to you?

Song of the Week: Over and Out (Renholder Version) by Alkaline Trio

While writing this past Sunday (over 4,000 words added to my current WIP), I found myself listening to this song over and over and over….and over.
It’s a sad one, but it managed to strike a perfect chord with my writing and pushed me to dig fairly deep inside myself and project those emotions onto the page.
So, of course I felt the need to share with everyone!
Enjoy!

Continue to send me your favorite songs! As always, I love listening to any and everything and I’m forever looking for additions to my playlist (special thanks to Lisa Gail Green for sharing last week!)
Happy Reading!!
Melinda