I grew up in a small town library that my mother was employed at for many years. Books were my friends. Libraries are silent, and even though I’ve always had music running around in my head, there was something beautiful about the silence. Nothing but words and more words; character’s troubles, not mine; towns, and people, and relationships. It filled me. It was enough to keep me. It developed in me a desire to string words together in the same, beautiful kind of way, so that other little girls, and boys, could escape their town, and their life.
But music was my parallel of desire. I wanted to be Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline (I’d seen both movies and was obsessed with having a blue chiffon dress and bright red lipstick). I wanted to wail, to croon, to make peoples’ hips sway in time. That’s quite a different effect than fiction.
What I found is, though still not easy to balance both, that I could mix both so that one wasn’t just writing and one wasn’t just music. There’s a heck of a lot of reference to rock and roll in THE SOUL SEEKERS. And in my music there is a literacy that is quite defined. The most important aspect is that I ENJOY doing both, and when I don’t, I can stop and catch my breath until it all comes back again.
I hope you enjoy your talents. Don’t let it become a chore. Find the love, find the music, find the silence in what you do. Thank you for reading this, and thank you again to Jessica Bell for having me here! Did I leave any wine glass stains on your sidebar? Yeah, sorry about that! I’ll just . . . clean that up.
Amy's BLOG
The Soul Seekers, on Amazon
Your music is showing...you have a rhythm to your writing. and it's a melody to read. I appreciate my talents, but I write humor, and sometimes people don't get it. Or me.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right about the music/rhythm thing. It's probably why, when having an off day, I feel like I can't write. Sometimes people don't get my humor either. It seems to work best when mixed in with a serious scene.
DeleteThanks again for having me, Jessica!
ReplyDeleteWell done, Amy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading!
DeleteVery cool, Amy! I've always had musician friends, and I love the lyrical way they tend to see the world, like in this line: I wanted to wail, to croon, to make peoples’ hips sway in time.
ReplyDeleteGood stuff! I'm a music lover, but not creator. I have to stick w/the silent fiction. But hopefully it'll move you! Best of luck w/your book! :o) <3
Thanks so much!
DeleteI love how you wrote this post! I also hear music all the time in my head. My dad once said, "Well, if I can't play music, I'll sing." I say, I'll sing, even in my own head. And, yes, music shows up in my writing, too.
ReplyDelete