Musical Heart

I listen to music when I’m painting, when I’m running, when I’m cooking. Everything I do is followed by a different soundtrack. When writing I listen to instrumental only, so song words don’t interfere with my words. When I’m painting it’s usually bluegrass, when I’m running its hard rock or club music, when I’m cooking its Frank Sinatra and Bobby Darin.

Music is designed to inspire. Its sole purpose is to make us feel; sad, happy, afraid, lonely, loved, excited. It enhances what we already feel.

 I often listen to music when I write. It helps me get into the emotion of the scene I’m writing, it makes it feel more real. Without music I’m not sure some of the scenes in my book would exist.

So go on YouTube or Pandora or whatever you choose and make a list of music that inspires you and when you’re feeling uninspired or tired or worn out or mentally blocked, listen to your favorites and keep creating.

This is one from my inspiration list of favorites, for writing a more cheerful scene. 

Big Sky

 There’s a reason Montana is called the big sky country.





 If you can’t tell from the pictures, the sky feels endless. You feel like you’re sitting on the top of the planet, with the curvature of the sky as proof.

I love to travel and this trip was especially amazing. We got to spend time in Glacier National Park. If you've never been, make an effort to go. It’s worth it.

Nature has always been inspiring to me. Enormous mountains and epic skies make me feel small, but important.

I’m sure that sounds strange, but I feel special because at that moment in time I got to see that cloud formation or the way the sun hit that mountain. It’s all about timing and even if I go there a hundred times, each time it will be different. A moving painting made just for me.

Cheesy but true, so get out and get inspired by nature. 

Side Note: We played the license plate game on this trip (for those of you who've never played, you write down all the different states license plates you see) Anyway we got all but six, that’s a record for me.

Side side note: If you've never played the license plate game you did not have a childhood. That, or you didn't grow up in the middle of nowhere, where seeing an out of state license plate was an exciting thing.