Monday, February 21, 2011

3M - In which I-Tunes becomes a Magic 8-ball...kind of...

First of all - just wanted to wave a BIG HELLO to all my new followers and fellow crusaders!  *waves*  :)  The buzz and support from Rach's fabulous crusade has just been wonderful.  Trust me - the rest of my Monday will be dedicated to following/following back.  My pleasure, of course!

In other news...  So, I've had a wicked case of writer's block lately.  I've been reading, I've been blogging, but I've written, oh, maybe a paragraph or two in the last week or three.  I open up my MS and can only re-read what's already there or stare at a blinking cursor.  Not fun.

I tried turning to other artistic media for inspiration, but my Veronica Mars DVD marathon this weekend, despite its witty banter, didn't quite do it for me.  I'm sitting here and aside from what I'm typing, my mind is rather blank.  Argh!  You hate writer's block when it happens, right?  And if it never happens to you, well...you suck you're very lucky.

So, I'm turning to another artistic medium to see if it will crack this hazy brown brick in my brain.  My I-tunes library.  I figure all the songs in it are there for a reason.  They've inspired me in some way.  My approach is initially for fun - but, I encourage you all to play along.  (*and if you don't have I-tunes, any music library/collection will do)

Today - I-Tunes shuffle will serve as a writer's block magic 8-ball.  Kind of. 

The idea behind the 8-ball is to tell the future in a vague, could-really-apply-to-anything manner.  I-tunes shuffle, obviously, will give different results.  *However - this is by no means a guide to the future writing in my MS.  It's merely to get the creative juices flowing.  If nothing else - I might have fun figuring out how to make my villain use....*pauses to shuffle*... "There She Goes" by Sixpence None the Richer to his/her advantage...

OK - so my random MS question of the day?  "I will find inspiration regarding the relationship between MC and (bleeped-out specific relative) by listening to...*again, pauses to shuffle*... Peter Murphy's "Cuts You Up".  Hmmm....interesting...(a tad disturbing, maybe)...but interesting.

OK, now it's your turn.  Any part of your current work giving you some trouble?  Ask a question and Shuffle It!  And please let me know what song you end up with?

Happy Mood Music Monday!

27 comments:

Samantha Vérant said...

***waves back*** You're in my crusade group! Hello! No, no problems in my current WIP! I just started a new one...

Meredith said...

What a fun idea! I have to listen to music as I write, so doing this will be just perfect. :)

Meredith said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I'll have to try that...

Lenny Lee said...

hi miss donea! for me im not blocked out right now. musics a big helper for me when i get writing but its gotta be stuff that got a good beat and gets my feet moving. more slow stuff could put me to sleep. zzzzz.
...hugs from lenny

alexia said...

Sorry about writers block! I can't listen to music while I'm writing, except classical (since there are no words). Are you not sure where you want to go with the story, or you know the next step but the words just aren't flowing?

For the first I usually sit down and just mull it over without the computer in front of me. For the latter, I make a contest out of how much I can write in 15 minutes even if it's total crap. It's kind of fun. Good luck!

Misha Gerrick said...

Noooooooooo!

I was thinking about my favorite aspect of a certain triangle when a song about unattainable love came up.

>_<

Not. working...

;-P

Misha Gerrick said...

Noooooooooo!

I was thinking about my favorite aspect of a certain triangle when a song about unattainable love came up.

>_<

Not. working...

;-P

Misha Gerrick said...

Noooooooooo!

I was thinking about my favorite aspect of a certain triangle when a song about unattainable love came up.

>_<

Not. working...

;-P

Misha Gerrick said...

Noooooooooo!

I was thinking about my favorite aspect of a certain triangle when a song about unattainable love came up.

>_<

Not. working...

;-P

Lisa Galek said...

Hahaha! I just did this and got the song "Mamma Mia" from the Broadway musical of the same name! Nice!

Good luck with your writers block. Sometimes it's good to take a little break and, like you said, try to break your cycle with some new ideas or tools.

Kari Marie said...

This is fun. I'm working on my ending, let's see what happens. I will get inspiration for the ending of my paranormal adventure/romance with The Long Run by the Eagles. Hmm....

Colene Murphy said...

HA! I clicked over to pandora just to see and got Seville - Pinback. Couldn't be more pleased with that result ;)

I hope your writers block passes quickly!! Never know when the bug will bite your ass again. Will probably be any day now! I just like to think about my novel - different parts, picture it happening and where things could change. I donno, that seems to help me.

M Pax said...

Been revisioning 2 WIPs. Just trying to keep my brain from oozing out.

Usually when I'm stuck, it means something is bugging me. What about skipping where you're stuck at and writing past that point? Maybe it will help.

Although your 8 ball / i-Tunes solution is very interesting.

Unknown said...

Hi there! Fellow crusader dropping in to follow. I love your blog title by the way...I am currently working on a revision of one of my chapters. Usually when I get a little stuck, I will open up itunes to get going again...

Faith said...

Helloooo fellow Crusader and group member!!! Hope you got the creative juices flowing again!!! Hmm, maybe I'll use this method next time I'm stuck... though I do prefer the "eat copious amounts of chocolate method". It doesn't help the story get unstuck, but it's a delicious coping mechanism... :D

Ellie Garratt said...

LOL. What a great idea!

Okay my trouble is, 'How invasive should I make the technology in my WIP Dreaming of Sleep?'

The shuffle came up with Distant Dreamer by Duffy. Now that is a bit scary. What have you started!

Unknown said...

What is this Crusade business all about? I keep hearing all about it? Is it like a club you're invited into? I feel jealous if that's the case... I am very curious. Probably too late to the game though.

So did the shuffle work?! I've had writers block lately but it's because the waiting game tends to win over everything else. Destroys me. Beats me down. (Nice right?)

Maria McKenzie said...

Hope you overcome writer's block! I have to have complete silence when I write. Although when I do listen to music, it might inspire a scene:).

Tony Benson said...

Hi there fellow crusader. Great idea for overcoming writers block. It's good to meet you.

DEZMOND said...

maybe some chocolate would help against writers block? Any excuse to use it as a cure ... :)

Along These Lines ... said...

Happy Presidents Pets Day - the day after Presidents Day, as I like to call it. In the US, we love our presidents..... pets. See my blog if you’re in the mood for a good ol' irreverent howl.

Theresa Milstein said...

I plan to spend 3+ hours working on my WIP tomorrow morning. If I can't pick up where I left off, I may need to use the Magic 8 Ball too.

Deniz Bevan said...

Hope your magic Shuffle worked - I think that's a great idea! I know music always inspires me. Sometimes all it takes is one word or lyric to kick start something in your head... And Peter Murphy of all things! Ha Ha!

The Happy Whisk said...

Hope you give that writer's block a good swift kick in the ass, knock it out the door and get to work.

Alison Miller said...

Writer's block is not always a BAD thing - sometimes it's good to take a break and let your subconscious hash it out.

I have theme songs for my novels (yes - weird) and so when I need inspiration, I just listen to my ms' song. :) I'm trying to clean up a WIP for querying so I've been listening to Taylor Swift. A LOT.

Good luck with the block!

Alison Miller said...

PS - I just became your 200th follower! Nice to meet you fellow crusader!