Monday, June 6, 2011

Read, Wight, and Bluegrass

I worked on some plot design for the next Hemlock novel yesterday. I also did some more thinking about how I write. I have concluded that I get the best ideas when I am on wheels and listening to music. This can either mean driving or mowing the lawn with headphones on. I don't know why this particular tincture works for me, but it is very consistent. Maybe travelling in a vehicle untethers my soul somehow and lets me tap into creative energies more easily? It's not easy to explain.

I had a neat moment over the weekend. My father plays the banjo. I was slightly embarrassed by this during high school, since it was the age of rock and roll, and bluegrass was not exactly cool in my estimation. All of my friends thought it was cool that he played though--why I never figured it out until much later is one of those mysteries of adolescence. Anyway, after much coaxing and a kiss from his granddaughter, my father gave us a little concert. Do you ever realize how special a moment is while you are living it? This was one of those moments. My mom got pictures, but my phone battery was dead, so I missed the video.

4 comments:

  1. Oh goodness - two of my greatest musical influences when writing Fantasy/Sword & Sorcery is Dead Can Dance, and Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. They're pre-made mental movie soundtracks :-)
    And Dueling Banjo's is the coolest.
    Next time be sure to have batteries fully charged! Sometimes I regret leaving my house without my camera but I can't cart it around everywhere - missed some very interesting shots tho' :(

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  2. Cool. I'll check out that music next time I'm writing. My usual faves for
    a sword and sorcery mood are some heavier rock songs: oldies like Led
    Zepplin, grunge bands like Alice in Chains or Soundgarden, and maybe some
    black metal like old Candlemass. Dark ambient is pretty good for setting a
    mood as well. Older Delerium never fails me. Of course, I have to balance
    that dark energy with some lighter fare as well.

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  3. Bad editing on that last comment. My excuse is having spent the prior 30 minutes trying to post the damn comment. Blogger was hating on me in a serious way!

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  4. I hear ya. Blogger unfollowed me or something - I went to find you in my list on the dashboard to read latest posts and poof! Half the ppl I read are gone. Jiminy crickets.

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