Writer's Corner: Musical Inspiration

Whew, what a month it's been! I always forget how crazy May gets with all of the girls school projects, our church's Ladies Spring Event, and the end of the school year.

This month, I'm determined to meet the writing goals I've set for myself, so my blogging will be a bit more sporadic. (I just finished one of my deadlines last night and submitted an article for hopeful publication.) :D But I thought I'd drop by and do a little writing-related post for you. ;)

What inspires you to write? Many things inspire me: long walks, brainstorming sessions with friends and family, and photos and drawings for inspiration (thank you, Pinterest!). But above all, music inspires me.

I thought you might enjoy seeing my ultra-cool writing playlist on Spotify. This is my go-to playlist when I'm feeling the strain of writer's block.

I'd like to mention that not all of the songs are from albums, movies, or musicians I can fully endorse. When I look for music to use for inspiration, I'm often searching for certain lyrics, sounds, or emotional effects that put me in the right mood to write a certain scene. A few of the songs are actually mentioned in my book. I love playing them while I write or proofread those scenes. :)

You can see my playlist HERE.

Heh heh, I just realized this playlist is over seven hours long. ;) In my defense, it's been several years in the making. I just add songs here and there as I find new ones that inspire me.

NOTE: I just checked this link in an incognito window and realized that you guys can't see this unless you have a Spotify account. I figured I'd go ahead and keep this up for those of you who do. It looks like you can either create an account through Spotify or Facebook. Of course, I completely understand if you're not comfortable doing so.

For those of you who can't see it, the playlist includes songs by Josh Groban, Pentatonix, Enya, Colton Dixon, Steve Green, Fernando Ortega, Celtic Woman, Mario Frangoulis, Rachel Portman, John Williams, James Horner, and more. I also love listening to classical pieces and instrumental scores from my favorite movies.

And those songs that play a part in my book? The first is THIS version of The Swedish Rhapsody by Hugo Alfven. (This one just makes me smile every time I listen to it.) :) The second is the Valdres March by Johannes Hanssen (THIS Arthur Fieldler and the Boston Pops is my favorite version). And the third is Non ti scordar di me by Ernesto De Curtis. The first version I fell in love with was Russell Watson's, featured on this album, because of its beautiful instrumentation, but it's not anywhere online. So HERE's my second favorite version, sung by Mario Frangoulis.

Here's another bonus for those of you not on Spotify. My Pinterest board, "Music I Love," gives you a pretty good idea of the type of stuff on my playlist.

And anytime I need a reminder of the type of story I want to tell, I watch THIS incredible video, "These Are Written," animated by Full of Eyes on YouTube. The song is written by Patrick and Molly Lockwood. I haven't watched all of Full of Eyes' videos, so I don't know if we're in the same camp completely, but this specific one is such a blessing to me. :) Especially since it takes so much from the book of John, which the girls and I have studied several summers in a row.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

P.S. I apologize that it's been a while since my last "Fan Mail Friday" post. I have another one in the works, but I keep missing my Fridays. Maybe I'll do a "Fan Mail Not-Friday" post or something. ;) More toy reviews are coming, too. :)

Beast'sbelle's Playlists

As most of you know, I used to have a playlist on the blog before Mixpod.com shut their website down.  A few of my blog readers suggested doing a post with all of my playlist tracks in it, which I thought was a great idea.  I thought it would be an even better idea to link it to my pages up top so you can find it easily.  So in the future, you'll find a link to this post on the "Beast'sbelle's Favorites & Playlist" Page up top. :)

Unfortunately, I waited a little too long to do this post, so I've forgotten a lot of the tracks I had on there. :}  I figure this will be another "in progress" page.  I'll add more songs as I think of them. :)  If there's one in particular that I didn't add and you'd like to hear it again, leave me a comment.  Here are the ones I can remember for now:

Former Blog Playlist Tracks:
-Song of Hope Duet from Lord of the Rings the Musical
-The Road Goes On from Lord of the Rings the Musical
-Now and For Always from Lord of the Rings the Musical
-One Fine Day by Hayley Westenra
-The Flower Duet by Charlotte Church
-Main Aagar Kahoon from Om Shanti Om
-Aankhon Mein Teri from Om Shanti Om
-Tere Liye from Veer-Zaara
-Frank Churchill Arrives  from Emma (1996)
-The Dance from Emma (1996)
-End Titles from Emma (1996)
-Main Titles from Emma (2009)
-The Last Dance from Emma (2009)

After I started this, I thought it would be fun to share some of my other favorite songs.  The following songs are divided by category. :)

Housecleaning Music:
These are songs that are a little more upbeat that help me fold laundry, do dishes, sweep, or anything else that requires a bit of physical exertion.  Of course, sometimes I have to remind myself to focus and not get too distracted dancing to the music (in my own awkward, uncoordinated way!), especially when I'm listening to the Bollywood tracks! :}  [Note:  some of these songs come from movies that I don't necessarily completely recommend, but the songs themselves are fun and enjoyable.]

-The Medley from Mujhse Dosti Karoge
-The Cat and the Moon from Lord of the Rings the Musical
-Lodi from Veer-Zaara
-Saj Daj Ke  from Mausam
-Haule Haule from Rab Ne Bana di Jodi
-Koi Ladki Hai from Dil to Pagal Hai
-Soni Soni from Mohabbatein
-The Cowman and the Farmer Should be Friends from Oklahoma
-Comme Facette Mammeta  by Mario Frangoulis (you can't help but feel happy when you hear this song!) ;)
-Any bluegrass music :)

Story Writing Music:
These are songs I listen to while working on my books.  They are often songs I've picked because they have a message or theme that fits into different parts of the story line.  Either that, or they are chosen to help me feel specific emotions.  For example, when I'm writing a sad scene, I listen to sad music to help me feel what my characters are feeling.  [Once again, some of these songs come from movies that I either haven't seen or can't recommend, but serve their purpose for my story.]  Here are a few of my favorite story writing tracks:

-Non ti Scordar di Me  by Russell Watson (couldn't find his version, but here's Mario Frangoulis' version.  I prefer Mario's voice, but I just love the instrumental part of Russell's version!  It's much more haunting.)
-All Love Can Be  by Charlotte Church (this one is set to pictures, and some of them are an odd choice...especially the walrus towards the end!) :}
-Remember Me by Josh Groban
-My Immortal  by Evanescence  (I'm not a fan of all of their stuff, and I don't care for the version of this song with the electric guitar.  I also would not recommend listening to a sad song like this all the time, but I use it to get me in the right mindset for the sadder parts of my stories.)
-The Swedish Rhapsody by Hugo Alfven
-Dulaman by Celtic Woman
-In Her Eyes by Josh Groban
-Any instrumental Celtic music
-anything by Hayley Westenra
-The entire "Let My Life be a Light" CD  by the Wissmann family (this link has one of my favorite songs from the CD)

Christian Music:
Here are a few of my favorite more contemporary Christan songs that I enjoy (well, as contemporary as I get...my music tastes are pretty conservative). ;)

-How Deep the Father's Love for Us performed by Fernando Ortega
-In Christ Alone performed here by Keith and Kristyn Getty (my favorite version is the one done by the Wissmann family)
-Calvary's Love performed by Steve Green
-Children of the Living God performed by Fernando Ortega
--I Will Carry You by Selah
-Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman


Hymns:
I grew up (and am still attending) a very conservative church, so I've had years of listening to the great old hymns of the faith.  I love these hymns because of their depth and because of the amazing stories that are behind them.  I was able to find several of my favorites to share with you:

-It is Well With My Soul by Horatio G. Spafford
-My Savior First of All by Fanny Crosby
-Take My Life and Let it Be by Frances Ridley Havergal
-I Will Sing of My Redeemer by Philip Bliss
-Sweet Hour of Prayer  by William Walford
-Have Thine Own Way by Adelaide A. Pollard
-Just As I Am by Charlotte Elliot
-Face to Face by Fanny Crosby (couldn't find this one on YouTube)

Like I said, this is a list that will grow and change with time, so keep checking back for updates. :)