Inspiration?
Do you lean on music for writing inspiration? What about art? Photos? Travel? Leo Babatua has a wonderful article on this exact thing. http://writetodone.com/2008/03/03/31-ways-to-find-inspiration-for-your-writing/
Many days I have typed my status on Facebook or Twitter..."Waiting for inspiration, or Looking for Inspiration...or even Found Inspiration" It is the search for that illusive intangible item that motivates us to get from point "A" to point "B" in our story telling.
I personally use photos quite a bit to bring back the emotion of a trip or a place and that helps the creative ideas flow. Music has also been a muse.
If you look at Stephanie Meyer's website for her Twilight series; http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight_playlist.html, she has created a playlist for her books. Each book has songs that inspired her to write. She even credits the band Muse for being her literal muse. This is a great way to share the source of your ideas with the reader and I have found that it helps them to relate to your work on a more intimate level. Bringing in the reader to your world so they can see your story and characters from your point of view.
I remember the first time I read "Interview with the Vampire" by Anne Rice. I only had time to read it when my husband had band practice in the evening. The band was writing this dark sounding song that fit the theme of the book perfectly. Everytime I hear that song today I think if the book, and visa versa. Writers can use that memory etching to their advantage.
I do believe that if we use the tool of music we can bring books to another level. Who is to say in the next few years that some novels might actually come with a compact disc inside the book cover? What about creating cooperatives with bands to write music for your characters like movie soundtracks but for the book story? There is an unlimited pool of ideas here to work with and I am looking foward to finding out what the next step will be.
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