Skip to main content

NaNoWriMo & Music

I can not listen to music with words while writing. I love music and can't help but sing along. I sing along even though I can not sing. I seriously can not sing. I had a dog once that also let me know I couldn't sing. When my oldest was a newborn I would sing to my daughter and my dog would howl.  Yes, howl.  I would like to think she was singing along too but I am pretty sure she didn't like me singing.

Music is a good way for me to block out the world and focus on writing but it takes a special mix for me. Pandora is my go too music radio. My writing station was found by recommendation, Classical for Studying radio. I gave it a try and fell in love. It isn't all classical Mozart, Bach, or Beethoven. It has a modern twist. My favorite is the Dallas String Quartet. They play top 20 music but all strings no words. This is tricky when I know the words to the song though.

I have learned a lot about my classical music likes. I love cello solos, string quartets and piano solos. Canon in D is playing as I type, it is just a magical song.  True magic, not the fantasy magic in books.

Listening to music is also a kind of a totem for writing. It is a sign to my family that if my earphones are on and I am at my computer interruption is only welcome if necessary. I try hard to not write when the family is around.  I try to do midmorning during the week or late night after everyone is in bed. When word counts are low and a day missed writing has happened, earplugs and classical wordless music help drown out that movie playing on the TV.

Find you writing music before November.  Try and write while listening to music.  I find my normal go to station is to fun for me to focus on the 50,000 word goal.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Low Expectations

Mark and I took the kids a couple of years ago to Orlando for a weekend.  Nathan was less than a year old, Alexandra must have just turned 2 and Madison was 4.  I look back and laugh but at the time it was anything but funny.  A trip to Disney would be fun and relaxing right?  HA!  We never even made it to Disney because Madison was so ornery the day we were going to go I couldn't justify going.  We learned a lot about being parents of three young kids that weekend.   During our stay we took the kids to the Rainforest Cafe.  Nathan was terrified the whole meal and after our $75 lunch Madison threw up all over the table and floor.  That is when Mark made the rule we don't take the kids to a restaurant unless it has a drive thru, curbside doesn't count.  We really do stick to that rule and the only sit down "nice" restaurant we go to with the kids is Sonny's BBQ.  Before we left I wanted to get the kids a little something from the Disney Marketplace.  I took the...

True Friends

I am on Facebook daily and love flair.  I had a local friend send me flair that said , " True friendship isn't being inseparable. It's being separated and nothing changes."  I'm hoping that once I leave this area I have many friends that are true friends.  This post is an ode to such a friend.  One friend of mine moved away many years ago and I realized the other night that she is that just that friend.  It doesn't matter if time or many miles separates us she is a true friend.  I realized after a long conversation on the phone with that person (her mostly listening) that I have a gem of a friend and I am so grateful for her.  I just wanted to send out a shout to that person, you know who you are and let you know I think your the best!   Maybe one day God will let us live in the same city.   It is funny as you get um... well.... older you start to have friends all over the country.  I do have many friends all over the place and each of you are special to me.  ...

Intentional Spending

I first want to say I am not cheap!  I don't buy the cheapest item just because I want to save money.  I do like finding a good deal on things that are high quality.  I don't like sacrificing quality for price.  I try to never pay full price for anything.   When I say our spending it intentional what I mean is that Mark and I sit down around November and hash out the budget.  Some things are constants in the budget.  Mortgage, phone, insurance pretty much stay the same.  Some vary like gas, water, electric.  After years of budgeting we can average out what we spent the year before and add if needed to the new budget.   Here is what we do know we have to pay something first so they go in the budget first.  Then what is "leftover" is up for dividing.  This is not a fool proof plan. Medical never gets budgeted enough money.  Which is why you should have a savings account.  Every category gets a set amount of money tha...