As I wait for my favorite vice to be available once more (curse those large World of Warcraft changes that causes my server to be down!) I find myself occupying myself in a way I rarely do anymore. I've plugged in my headphones and sit here before the computer listening to the random ministrations of sound, noise, and banter that compose modern music. Prior to my Azerothian addiction, I listened to music for hours at a time. Sadly, I haven't been doing so. So, I've made a vow to myself to enjoy more audio-candy as a method of sparking some creative juices.
Now, I'm sure you must be wondering what in the world that has anything to do with anything. Well, darling explorers of the internet, let me enlighten you. Music has influenced humanity since the beginning, when the first men pounded rocks on larger rocks and when the breeze sounding through river reeds made the first women dance. Whether you enjoy the same styles of music as me is unimportant. Indeed, I honestly could care less what the person in the next website over is listening to. I'm not sure how many people are aware of this, but I am an author-in-training. (Odd turn of phrase? I think not.) My specialty is, like many, fantasy.
Fantasy. Where just about anything can happen, right? Of course. And most of the time I have no problems contemplating the actions of my heroine and her companions, but there are always those occasions where I have no idea what's going on. Typically my beloved little protagonist takes over and goes in a direction all on her own and I'm struggling to keep up. See, children, this is the tie-in. I use the music I enjoy to put my characters all on the same page as me, no pun intended. But music is unrelated to a novel, you say. And I disagree.
Let me give you a good example, without revealing too much of the story. We have our heroine, Cyra, facing down against her nemesis, Nephi. They've been at odds since the novel's opening. We're at their climactic, storyline-enhancing, all or nothing showdown. They're both skilled with the blade; the battle begins. Now, I struggled for quite a while trying to picture the fight as it progresses. To be fair, I know how I want it to start and end ... but the middle? Not a clue. Enter my playlist, chock full of lovely, European metal serenades and power chords. Ah yes, now we get it. The battle practically writes itself, synchronized with each note.
Granted, the reader isn't going to have my mp3 player sitting in their lap to hear what I do when those swords clash and ring out, but hopefully the result is the same. If I've followed instinct and skill correctly, the battle should be as fluid as the song I chose to write to. The readers won't need my specific list to see how their skirmish resolves.
All this rambling means, travelers, is that I'm reclaiming my inspiration. Perhaps I'll get some excellent chapters out of all of this. If not, at least I've remembered just what helps keep me going. As much as I find my vice to be entertaining and cathartic, there's a whole world of characters waiting for me to script their own scenes. Wish me luck!
