I’m thrilled to report that in the span of one month, I’ve already hit over 13,000 words for the Meet the Lidwells project, averaging around 500 to 700 words day. I’m still on track for a fall release at this point, as I think I’m about a fifth of the way done already!
Meanwhile, here’s a few songs I’ve used for inspiration and reference so far. As you can see, there’s definitely a deep Britpop influence going on.
The Stone Roses, “I Am the Resurrection”: The four-to-the-floor beat of this track was part of the inspiration for the Lidwells’ first major hit, “Grapevine”. Theirs is a catchy track that captures the interest of not just their younger teen fans but also the older ones, thanks to their ability to cleverly mix pop stylings and creative alternative rock. The Lidwells were known for stretching out “Grapevine” live, much like how The Stone Roses did with this song.
The Charlatans UK, “Opportunity”: Keyboardist Danny Lidwell wrote a groovy deep track called “Trust” for their debut album inspired by the keyboard-heavy Manchester bands like The Charlatans and Inspiral Carpets. He claims that “Trust” was when he deliberately decided to stop being self-conscious about his playing and just powered through it, revealing his own unique style in the process.
The Real People, “Window Pane”: I’m using this song as a sort of template as to what the early Lidwells sound like aurally: a lot of harmony, a positive and funky vibe, and definitely catchy and fun to dance to.
The House of Love, “You Don’t Understand”: This would be a good example of the type of song they would write, especially eldest member and band leader Jason. In fact, Jason will end up writing a song similar-sounding to this one by their third album.
Veruca Salt, “Volcano Girls”: This is definitely a great example of how I picture the two women in the band, Hannah and Amy, rocking out. Hannah is a badass drummer with no fear, and Amy is one hell of a shredder. They’re both solid songwriters with no filter at all.
The La’s, “Looking Glass”: If A Division of Souls had Failure’s “Daylight” as the soundtrack for the final scene, this is the one for MtL‘s finale. This would be Thomas, the youngest Lidwell, singing this as the final song on their final show on their last tour, going out on one hell of a high.
NOTE: HEY KIDS! Speaking of writing, I have an e-book coming out this Friday! The Balance of Light, the third book in the Bridgetown Trilogy, will finally get released in just a few short days! Come on over to Smashwords and check it out!
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Of course, you all know that I almost always have some sort of tunage going during my writing sessions, especially when they’re back here in Spare Oom. Even as I type this, I’m listening to Elbow’s latest album, Little Fictions.
You also know that there have been certain go-to albums that I’ll play, especially if I’m working on something related to the Mendaihu Universe.
But now that that particular project is complete…now what should I listen to? Good question.
Meet the Lidwells! is about a musical family, and once I get to the bulk of the writing of this project, I’m sure I’ll be listening to a lot of 90s alternapop to fit with the band’s sound. I’ve got a lot of that stuff in my collection, thanks to my time at HMV, but I can also let SiriusXM’s Lithium station do the work as well.
Other than that, my project options are wide open. I’m thinking maybe a standalone Mendaihu Universe book or two. And for some reason, I’ve decided that I need to listen to a lot of LOUD music for those. The plot ideas I have for these involve a lot of emotional and societal tension, so something twitchy and irritable would fit quite nicely.
Something like the alt-metal of Caspian for instance:
…or something nice and crunchy from Deftones.
I’m sure I’ll temper it with some quiet moody stuff like I always do.
Either way, it’s time to change up the writing session soundtrack big time. I’m not sure what I’ll be listening to in particular, but I’m keeping my options open. Some of my favorite writing session albums come to me purely by accident — an album I haven’t heard in years that just happens to fit the mood of the scene, or a new release that clicks with me right from the first listen. I still absolutely adore Failure’s Fantastic Planet (it’s still on my gym mp3 player after all these years), but I’ve got to start listening to more than just the same things.
I’ve been feeling frustrated lately and I know it’s my own damn fault. I keep falling into my own trap of wasting time when I could be using it for creative endeavors. Granted, I don’t always have the free time in between my Day Job responsibilities to sneak in some daily words, but it’s mid-February and I already see that I’m falling back into timewasting habits.
Mind you, I haven’t completely turned into a lazy-ass who dreams of being a writer but never quite gets there, never putting word to paper or screen. I’m delivering some decent word count on the Walk in Silence project as of late. I’ve also been having a lot of fun with my art, playing around with a comic version of A Division of Souls for my weekly art exercise (this isn’t top priority at this point, as my art still needs a hell of a lot of work). And I’ve been doing a lot of guitar playing.
Boiling it down: I have a lot of Best Laid Plans coming up against an easily-distracted mind. There’s a reason I have multiple calendars and a whiteboard schedule…if I didn’t, my output would be much lower. But it’s also a matter of finding the willingness to make good on those plans: I can’t just be “in the mood” or “inspired by the music I’m listening to” or whatever else puts me in the correct mindset. I have to make myself want to achieve these goals, or else they’ll just remain Best Laid Plans.
We’re all our own worst enemy at times. How do you combat it? What do you do to clear those hurdles?
Walk In Silence 