The Power of Music and Creativity

Happy September, everyone! Hope everyone is doing well. I am extremely thankful that Hurricane Gustav did not damage New Orleans and surrounding area as much as anticipated. Please keep all the people whose areas were hit hard by Gustav in your thoughts, as I remember Katrina’s devastation all too clearly.

As I’m plugging along writing Book 4, the subject of music keeps coming up. I’m not quite sure why certain creative projects are attracted to certain types of music, and it’s not like I choose certain genres deliberately. In many ways, whichever music allows the muse to flow and keep the words coming gets meshed into the ‘soundtrack’ for a specific book. As the book gets fine-tuned and the chapters get written, what begins as several songs shifts to a specific listing.

Book 3- Ghosts, Grits, and A Damn Yankee – had strong Irish themes. I lived on Irish music–lots of Roger Drawdy & The Firestarters, The Waterboys, The Saw Doctors.

Book 4 (I’m keeping the title secret for now, but it’s a doozie!) seems to be flocking toward 2 different genres entirely, and I’m still open to others. Right now, it’s the soundtrack for Mamma Mia and various 80s hits by The Cure. Odd thing is, I grew up in the 80s and was completely indifferent toward The Cure. Now I am listening to them more and more.

But music does more than keep us going on creative projects. Some of the quotes can be incorporated into our daily lives with great advice, such as some of my favorites below:

* If you’re not part of the future, then get out of the way. — John Mellancamp, “A Peaceful World.”

* It’s hard to begin, when you can’t see the end. You can only depend on the courage you own. Take careful aim.–Roger Drawdy & The Firestarters, “Take Careful Aim.”

* I wrapped my fear around me like a blanket. I sailed my ship of safety till I sank it. I’m crawling on your shores.–The Indigo Girls, “Closer to Fine.”

More thought-inspiring lyrics soon. Until then, crank up the music!