Jennifer Voyles

I blinked, and there went November.

I participated in NaNoWriMo (hence my lack of updates) …but did I reach my 50,000 word goal? Not so much. Apparently I feel the need to weigh every syllable before I type it, and then reweigh it as I finish each word and each sentence, and then judge that syllable for its accuracy and sound quality seven times before the end of the paragraph. Yes, I realize I was battling against NaNoWriMo’s entire premise. I truly tried to break a lifetime of OCD writing habits, but I was only so-so successful. Still, SW is coming together, and I have a large portion of the first draft sitting in a folder on my desktop. I’m sure I’ll return to it soon. And despite my overall NaNoWriMo failure, I did benefit from scheduling regular writing jams, a practice I plan to continue in 2013. By golly, SW will be written!

(I may post a small excerpt from SW in the near future….)

Hurricane Sandy is now bearing down on the east coast. The images are terrifying. And magestic. What awful, amazing creative inspiration.

My thoughts and prayers are with you all as you buckle down and survive the storm and its aftermath over the next few days. I know I’ll be contacting several close friends later tonight to see how they’re managing, where they’ve relocated to, and what I can do to help. I hope everyone is safe, dry, and warm this stormy day.

***

In writing news, I’ve been frantically composing lists for SW. Once upon a time, I was an obsessive lister: groceries; types of flowers I wanted in my (current and future) garden; Must-Read-Books releasing in the next month, two months, before Christmas. Since we are in the last week of October, the final week before NaNoWriMo begins, I’ve attempted to organize my thoughts in every spare moment by composing lists on my characters (their traits, locations they’ve lived, pets they’ve owned, family relationships), the setting (businesses downtown, road names, natural features), scenes I’ve written, scenes I need to write, names of secondary characters…. You name it, it’s probably jotted down somewhere.

I do believe I have a slightly better grasp on SW‘s world. Which is good.

… But.

In the midst of all my organizing, I’ve also noticed a severe decline in actual writing taking place. I’ve allowed my OCD listing to overpower the story itself.

Not good.

My epiphany today: It’s all fine and dandy to delve into prep work, but at some point, we just need to sit down and write, lists and research be damned.

Will all my compulsive listing help my writing process over the next month? I have no idea. But my goal this week is to strike a better balance between prep work and writing. I don’t want to know this much about my characters and fail to bring them to life.

No, I’m not throwing around song lyrics for the heck of it. (Really, though, is there ever a bad reason to quote “American Pie?”)

This is what has been on my writing-mind of late: SW‘s Playlist. No pressure. Shouldn’t be too difficult. Just need to assemble a few tunes with the power to blank out the rest of the world.

Uh huh.

For those of us who prefer to write far from home and its plentiful temptations, chores, and distractions, a writing playlist (and an excellent set of earbuds) is key. (Nothing like coffee mugs clanging and neighbors conversing to put you off your grammar.) Beyond the immediate benefits, I’ve also found that the songs I choose greatly influence the composition itself– molding scenes, intensifying the mood, giving my words an echo I might not have otherwise recognized — so I’ve become verrrrrry deliberate in what I select, and the order in which I select it.

A good friend of mine writes to a smorgasbord of international pop (read: American Top 40 circa 1993, but in foreign tongues). Another prefers hard core electric guitar riffs. Me? In the past, I’ve found it difficult to work with other people’s lyrics rolling in my head.

Here’s an example:

A few years back, I was rocking out, writing, to a certain power ballad. I was on a roll: The words just streamed from my fingertips, tempting me to raise a Fist of Triumph for the success of the poem. I was so excited about it, in fact, I immediately emailed the draft to another poet.

…minutes later… <phone rings>

Poet Friend: “Umm, Jen?”
Me: “Hi! You already read it? What do you think?”
Poet Friend: <pause> “Were you just listening to <name of a very well known band>?”
Me: “Wow! How did you know?”
Poet Friend: … “Yeah. Have you read your poem?”

Needless to say, I found it necessary to switch to instrumental music after that.

Now I’m working on the playlist for SW. I find myself once again drawn towards songs with lyrics. (Really loving Mumford and Sons at the moment.) Maybe I should attempt a mix? Make a couple different playlists, in case the classical/instrumental soundtrack is needed? Perhaps I should form different song collections by intended mood/theme? Hmmm….

What specific songs or genres of music do you write to? Is there an artist that makes you want to pull out your pen and scribble away? Or are you one of those horrible, horrible souls who can sit and write anywhere, regardless of exterior noise? 😉