Music and Writing

A few days ago, I was getting ready to edit a scene from my WIP and literally couldn't bring myself to start until I brought some music up in the background. I'm one of those authors who finds it much easier to write with music. It often reinforces and/or inspires certain characters or relationships, regardless of if the songs themselves are mentioned in the book.

That being said - My Chemical Romance has been my favorite band for several years. They have a brand new album out, and I've done more than I usually would to celebrate the occasion, partly because of the band, but partly because this album has already been an inspiration, from the time I heard the promo for the very first single. I won't be able to buy the CD 'til I get some funds (Christmas money is never saved with me), but I've watched every video, including one with the entire album on it (you can see why I love this band, yes?) and I'm excited. Very, very excited. There is one driving force behind this excitement: Spade.

I haven't talked about Spade much, and I won't, because it's not my project. Well, I'm co-author, but it's not my baby/brain-child, the idea came from a friend that just got too busy to do all the writing herself. I offered to help, and she offered to let me. It's my fall-back project for when I'm stuck on my own stuff, or just need a break.

Like MCR's new album, Danger Days, Spade is a dystopian set in California (though it's more governmental breakdown than true disaster story), and it has it's light/dark moments. We don't have masks, dracs, or blasters, but we do have a kidnapping, copious amounts of thievery, and rebellion. While hearing Danger Days for the first time, I thought continually about Spade, the characters and what I love about them, and about that book.

There was once a rather self-indulgent scene early in Spade where a large group of characters start bawling out 'Teenagers', a MCR song, when it came on the radio. Now, in my mind, that scene that probably won't make it past revisions has 'Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na)' in it, instead. Whenever I think about the two MCs, I feel like 'The Only Hope For Me is You' and 'Sing' are their songs, their hope and their message. And that's what I love about MCR, about this album, and about music. It rings true to me as a fan, a person, and a creator, and it makes me want to write and draw and get up in front of people and scream my lungs out. That's my definition of good music.

So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, thanks go out to MCR, for breaking the rules, making this album, and bringing back the sunshine and color. It's been a trip watching them grow as artists and leeching off their inspiration.

In closing, MCR rocks, dystopians are fun, and this was an unusually long blog post. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.