No update in a while...

It's been a while but I'm still here. I've been plodding my way through The Super School Uniform. I'm currently thinking how to best stage my next action scene. This sequence is somewhat important because it will reveal what the aliens, the Noigel, look like without their protective suits, along with what kind of weapons they use. I'm going for a Predator/Jem'Hadar kind of thing without hopefully making the Noigel TOO similar to them. If anyone has any cool alien designs/inspirations they'd like to see, please tell me. I didn't think of the Noigel designs when I wrote the outline, I figured I would just make it up when I got to that point in the novel. Well, it's here now, and stumping me more than I thought it would. I guess I'll plan ahead better when I write my third book.

Anyway, I've also been reading. I'm trying to alternate my book this year; swapping between Stephen King, Jeffery Deaver, Star Trek, and something I normally wouldn't read. I'm currently reading The Bourne Identity. So far it has just been okay. Maybe knowing what he is, because I've seen the movies, is hindering my appreciation, but the book seems to be just a series of "follow the money and meet people who give you clues." The story heavily involves banks and money and people who work for people who work for a person who works for a person that wants Jason Bourne dead. I'm about halfway through and I hope I will finish it. I tried reading The Three Musketeers and The Time Traveller's Wife but didn't finish them. Maybe one day.

I joined the site Goodreads so I can get recommendations on books that I normally might not read. My reading selection is somewhat limited and I'm trying to expand that (hence The Bourne Identity and The Maltese Falcon). I also search out new authors on Smashwords. I'm hoping to come across some good stuff this year.

As always, leave your comments below and thanks for reading.

Writing To Music

I would think most writers would agree: noise helps you to write. In fact, I read an article that said that background noise, at around 70 decibels, helps. That is why writing at cafes is popular, tuning out the the low level noise forces you to concentrate harder on the the task at hand. Writing to music is the same, I think.

I listen to mostly three kinds of music: movie soundtracks, Meat Loaf, and Hello! Project (Morning Musume, Berryz Koubou, C-ute, and others). I also like country and a few other artists but I'll admit I'm out of touch with the American music scene. But like most artists, I listen to music when I write. Silence is too distracting.

I write mostly to movie soundtracks. I find if I write to music with words I began to think more about the song than the story on the screen in front of me. I'll start singing along to Meat Loaf and whatever few words I know to Morning Musume songs, thinking about their dance routine in their PVs. Music with words makes my mind wander.

Soundtracks help. With no words to distract me, I just pick an album I like and start it up. Once it's finished, I switch to another one. The music becomes the cafe background noise that I tune out to focus on my writing. Sure, when I pause in my writing, a particular tune may make me think about its scene in the movie but it is less distracting. Sometimes listening to an action piece while writing an action scene helps my writing.

Lately, the soundtrack to X-Men: First Class has been getting a lot of play time. I just really love it. With a lot of soundtracks in my iTunes library, some of course get played more than others.

Of course, I'd live to hear your thoughts. What do you listen to when you write? Any recommendations? Anything you'd suggest avoiding? Leave your comments.

As always, thanks for reading.