Musical Favoritism

What’s your character’s favorite song?

What’s the one song they put on repeat and can’t get enough of; the one they feel in their bones every time it plays?

The music someone likes tells a lot about them. It could influence their style, their mood, their way of life. But someone’s favorite song tells even more. It tells what they relate to, where they are in life underneath what they show on the outside. It encompasses five minutes of who they are at their core.

It is important to know your character’s favorite genre of music, especially if they are a “music person” (although I think we all are, to some extent), but it is even more important to use those music choices to better understand your character. Music can give them voice, if you let it.

Words and poets and grease

Books that changed my life part two

“Stay gold, ponyboy.” One of the most impactful quotes in all of young adult canon. At least it is to me.

Growing up, I struggled finding books I was “allowed” to read. The books my friends were reading were mostly forbidden by my parents, for good or for bad (I’ll leave that debate for another time). With a reading addiction as strong as mine was (and still is) I struggled with this conundrum, and throughout this time of limited reading material, my mom tried her hardest to keep a book in my hand at all times. This led to her suggesting some of her favorite books that she read in high school, one of which was The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.

Not only did I love this book and the characters in it, but I read it six times. Four times consecutively. From a reader’s perspective, the plot and characters are so well done that I was immediately immersed in the world of greasers and socs.

From a writer’s perspective, S.E. Hinton became my life goal – she published The Outsiders at age 18 and I made it my goal to write and publish a book with such unique voice and relatable story by the time I graduated high school. That goal was not met, but I knew it was ambitious and I’m still striving to be as unique and solid of a writer as Hinton is, even if high school and college have since passed me by.

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Fiction Doesn’t Lie

 I know I’ve said this so many times before, but stories are a part of us.  Especially the stories we write.  Even if it’s complete fiction, the writer/story relationship is still strong, our lives interconnected with that of the words on the Microsoft word document, or even with the annoying blink of the cursor.

Writing is a place where I don’t have to hide from myself.  I can be honest and open and aware.  In my mind, no matter what I am working on, I’m writing it for myself.  Granted, some things I do intend to publish eventually and other things are for my personal outlet or enjoyment, but no matter the case, I am still writing for myself as an audience.  This means, ideally, that I can learn something new about myself every time I sit down to write.  When writer’s block takes over, sometimes insincerity comes along with it, but that is eventually overcome and I am the only one in the audience once again.

This past summer, I was sitting in a coffee shop, raging mad at something (I don’t remember what it was now), but I had planned on working on my novel idea that day.  I had it in my head that there is no way I can do anything productive with my thoughts all over the place like that, but alas, I picked up my pen anyway, because I promised myself I would write at least something.  Even if I just vent and write incoherent, rage-filled psychobabble, that’s still something, right?  So that is what I did, and somehow (with some revising and clarifying), those 30 minutes of angry word-vomit have become my favorite part of my novel.

Don’t ask me specifically how that happened, because I don’t know.  But I think honesty had something to do with it.

 

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