One of the tips I was given years ago was to find a bunch of music that inspires the work in progress, create a playlist in whatever manner you have at your disposal, and listen to it while you’re writing. Thanks to Mari’s advice, I’ve done that for each project I work on, and most of them are pretty distinct in both similarities and differences.

For The Big Blue Shirt, I’ve been listening to a lot of Linkin Park, Adam Lambert, Adele, and Three Days Grace. A smidgen of Simple Minds, Godsmack, and a handful of others round it out. Mostly Linkin Park though. Something about their music suits the theme of my novel to a t (no pun intended). I’ve been sharing a lot of the videos on my personal Facebook profile, and I may pop some over onto my author wall, too.

The main song, though, is Lost in the Echo. This one does cross over into Galleys Between and Into the Mirror as well, but is absolutely perfect for the struggles with grief that both Sian (the wife) and Michelle (the best friend) face when Sam (the husband/best friend) dies.

Well, here’s a link to the playlist on Youtube (I can’t guarantee all 48 will be there every time someone looks, ’cause, ya know, youtube.). It’s not too late to develop your own, if you haven’t already!

The Big Blue Shirt Soundtrack

NaNoWriMo has certainly stolen my soul. I don’t know how they got the bits and pieces away from all the people that had it in storage, but, NaNo has it now. All in one piece.

And I can have it back, only if I finish this novel.

ARGH!

So, my protags have stopped fighting, now I’ve got to come up with a common antagonist. I hadn’t thought about this before, not really anyway. I’d been hanging hopes on an ephemeral antag. A something, not a who. Any thoughts? I’d cherish some advice right about now!

How are things on your end? Are you getting your words out every day, or binge writing, as I seem to be doing?

By the end of the day you should have completed at least 23333 to stay on track.

Best of luck!
<3 JL