Music (And the inspirational qualities it possesses)

I love music. I'm envious of it in fact. I'm envious of it's elusive ability to capture the realm of emotion with such perfection. Music can accomplish with emotion what words never can.

But as annoying it is that musicians can so accomplish what we authors cannot, it can also be inspirational. I know that I personally have created several playlists for my writing. Songs for action packed, epic scenes, songs for characters, songs for happy tones and depressing tones. But especially songs for pure emotion.

I find instrumental songs to be the best for this category. Songs that do not use words and are thus, somehow beyond a plain of existence we can totally understand.

I often turn to one composer in particular for my instrumental needs. Her name is Yoko Kanno. Ms. Kanno is a Japanese composer who can literally compose for every single genre. From heavy metal to beautiful classical pieces that fully capture emotions from joy and exhilaration to heartbreak and agony. Her work that isn't instrumental is sung in anything from English to Japanese to a language that she just...  made up herself. I know. Don't you just love those people?

She has music for just about every genre and every mood so I highly recommend checking her out. Look up Yoko Kanno playlist on youtube and you'll have a lot to work with.

What kind of music do you use for inspiration? Let me know.

Trip of a lifetime (And what I've learned)

Finally I have returned from the unknown of the Baltic: That mysterious, overseas land in which I could not use my cell phone or email or facebook or any other messaging device, less I risk paying an arm and a leg for them.

But seriously, the lack of communication with the outside world did not at all hamper my experience of that wonderful place. I am eternally blessed to have been able to see eight different countries in just ten days. I can add eight more countries to my extensive list of places I've been (A list that only included America until quite recently.)

Since the vacation is fresh in my mind I thought I might talk about what I learned while I was there. Specifically: What I learned about writing.

Settings are fun.

Yeah, that's a bit of a weird thing to learn. But I've never been a particular fan of describing the scenery in minute detail. I'm more of a characters person. The setting is just kind of there. Now that's not to say that I don't love it when older books go into minute detail about their settings. I'm just not very good at it. Description of settings is probably one of my biggest shortcomings in my writing.

Maybe it's because the settings were never solid in my mind. Maybe it's because I've never been to the place I'm writing about because it's fantasy. That all changed when I went to Bornholm (This little island off the coast of Denmark). I remember thinking to myself as we drove through the small town (That contained buildings older than America) "Hey, this could be the setting of this book!"

And the trend continued. I found inspiring buildings, towns and, especially, churches all throughout Europe. From the quaint old town of Tallin to the modern Russia. And I took pictures of EVERYTHING in order to solidify my memory of these amazing places. I hope to use these pictures when I describe my scenery in the future. Maybe it will improve.

It is a shame that many books don't take time to describe their scenery anymore because so many editors, agents and publishers have told us to start with action and GO, GO, GO! I kind of want to see more stories really take their time and linger in the setting. Because even if it's not my strongest point, it can be an amazing tool in the hands of a master.'

-Authoress Anonymous