Since Thanksgiving is tomorrow here in the United States, and with NaNoWriMo coming to a close, I thought I’d celebrate a little by compiling a new playlist for reading and writing. This one is calm, contemplative, and unobtrusive, so you can focus on getting lost in a good book or a world of your creation. I hope you enjoy!
Tag Archives: music
How a Song for Kids Reminded Me Why I Write
I was sitting at a Sonic, dipping my plastic spoon into chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, when the song played. It was funny and I chuckled.
How clever.
I suppose I should have been a little embarrassed to be listening to my baby’s CD when he wasn’t even in the car. I wasn’t. How could I be?
Because … Sandra Boynton.
Despite having worked at a library as a teenager, I was first truly introduced to Sandra Boynton’s genius after college. It was love at first read. Years later, when I found out I was pregnant, one of the first things I did was go out and purchase a couple of her books for our little man. I had no idea she had created music, but when I saw a CD with the her name on it at a store, I bought it on the spot. I had set it aside, but that night in the Sonic parking lot, I put it in my car’s CD player on a whim.
And suddenly, I remembered again why I love words. Why kid lit is my favorite. Because the cadence and candor of a simple children’s story can speak to all of us.
This is why I write.
p.s. The song that made me chuckle? Copycat, sung by Brad Paisley. The song that took me back to my own childhood, when I could stare at a blade of grass or out a rain-drenched windowpane in quiet wonder? This one:
Mindscapes 4: Imagination
I have a new writing mix to share! Still editing away and this is today’s background music while I ponder characterization changes, pacing, dialogue, and setting in my WIP. I hope it will inspire new flights of imagination for you, as well.
Mix it Up: Mindscapes 3 – Trial & Triumph
I’ve been working hard on my current revisions for Fire & Sand this weekend. Soundtracks keep me motivated, so I made a new mix that I’m excited to share with you today!
Instrumental soundtrack music accompanies your adventure, mystery, love lost then found, and other soaring emotional journeys. This mix begins by entering a faraway kingdom, follows its heroes through uncertainty and many trials, then swells to a triumphant finale when all is well in the land once more.
It is perfect for background music for your writing, or perhaps just a really epic day of housecleaning.
You can find my other mixes for writing at 8tracks.com.
Image adapted from a photo by Kıvanç Niş via Flickr
Mix It Up: Take My Heart
Occasionally, I like to create mixes on 8tracks. Today, in honor of Valentine’s Day, I’m sharing some not-so-sappy love songs that never fail to make me smile and sing along.
Enjoy!