Inspiration

I've been thinking for the past few days. Where is my inspiration? I've stopped thinking about "lost motivation" and the disinterested feeling that keeps haunting me and I've started focusing on WHAT motivates me. What gives me that chill of excitement to create? What makes me feel like I could conquer anything I could ever wish to? I'm making a list to remind myself in the coming months. So if ever again you hear me say that I'm just not feeling up to the creation process....firmly direct me back here and tell me to go find myself again.


MUSIC:

Kerli "Walking on Air" -- A little-known Estonian gem with a talent for making me feel free from the cages of my own mind. This song of hers is a favorite of mine. Her slight accent that filters through her English makes it all the more enchanting. (I have quite a fondness for accents.) Perhaps she is one of my most important reminders: "Know that you can set your world on fire if you're strong enough to leave your doubts".

VNV Nation "Illusion" -- A very emotional song for me from a German band of which the average American knows nothing. When I'm losing the internal fights with myself, this song is the warm blanket that enshrouds me. It is a sadness and an acceptance of the same. It's the quiet acknowledgment of something that will always be a part of me. Something that allows me to create.

Kerli "Fragile" -- Somewhat on the same lines as VNV Nation's "Illusion", yet rather than being a comfort to me, it's a quiet statement to those who 'know' me. So much of who I am can never show, at least not in this world. This song allows me to reflect on that and reminds me that although no one can ever see and feel what I do, I can embrace it.

Enigma "Beyond the Invisible" -- "I look into the mirror. See myself. I'm over me. I need space for my desires, have to dive into my fantasies. I know as soon as I arrive, everything is possible, because no one has to hide beyond the invisible." It means more than the surface could ever pretend to be. It is the fight, the conquering, the reward, and the farewell. "Will you rise? Just feel and realize it is real and not a dream, I'm in you and you're in me. It is time to break the chains of life. If you follow you will see what's beyond reality."

Muse "Undisclosed Desires" -- An inspiration for my current project. Whenever I'm creating (or sometimes even when I'm not consciously doing so) certain songs will grab me and show me someone, something, or somewhere. It's like a dream you can remember yet know is real. My mind reminds me of the work my imagination does, my heart reminds me to believe. This song I heard on the radio for the first time just two days ago. Instantly I was reintroduced to someone who has long had many secrets to me. He gave up one in these four minutes.

Cirque du Soleil "Ballare" -- Speaking of songs that instantly transport me, none has done so as dramatically as this. It's soft, slow, sensual, demanding, alluring, and enchanting. This song makes me cry, although the Italian lyrics translate to nothing of sadness. I feel the music, I see the dream, and I am no longer myself. Nothing has ever come to me so vivid as the images accompanying this song. (I won't tell you what they are so you may create your own should you choose to listen to the song.) Perhaps the sadness in this is the lingering ache of the realization I can only watch and embrace the world from afar.

The Cruxshadows "Eye of the Storm" -- The lyrics say it all, the perfect motivational speech (at least for me) set to music. "The trials you now are facing, they are not greater than your will, for there is nothing under heaven you cannot overcome. See the door that lies before you and know this too shall pass, the confrontation of your fears and strength drawn from your past. Where the silent voices whisper, 'Find the course that is your own,' and however great the obstacle you will never be alone." It's worth a listen.

The Cruxshadows "Marilyn, My Bitterness" -- For some reason I am not quite certain of this song instills in me a strange sense of excitement. The best way to play it is very, very loud and get lost in the chorus.

The Cruxshadows "Dragonfly" -- Now that I think of it, it's best to listen to these three CXS songs in this order. The first one picks me up and gives me assurance I can do whatever I set my mind to. The second creates a building excitement. The third, "Dragonfly", tells a story and begs for a story to be told in return.

Abney Park "The Wrong Side" -- Everything by Abney Park is an inspiration to me. Their music, Robert's voice, touches me in a way no other band or musician ever has or most likely ever will. "The Wrong Side" is one of the first songs of theirs I connected to and still one of the strongest connections I have several years and albums later. "The Wrong Side" is the me that has never come out to play.

Abney Park "Too Far To Turn Back" -- A much more recent piece by AP that creates a fabulous sense of urgency in every fiber of me. "We're way in over our head it seems, this place is coming apart at the seams." It's true. Starting NaNoWriMo has put me so far in over my head, yet I've come to far too turn back.

Abney Park "Under the Radar" -- Quite simply this song puts me in the mood to tell a story.

Emilie Autumn "Four O'Clock" -- My NaNoWriMo theme song...in a very odd and twisted sort of way. Don't try to make sense of why. It really isn't just for the reference of being up in the middle of the night.

Hans Zimmer "Hummel Gets the Rockets" (from The Rock soundtrack) -- I knew this song for years before I ever knew where it came from. An instrumental that is worthy of inspiring the grandest stories.


There's some of the music for now. I'll tackle my inspirational movies and books next post!

Yours Truly,
Mrs. C

Service Down

I've had a few people suggest I take some mental time off from writing. I know, a disappointment to those of you just tuning in since this is supposed to be largely about writing. I'll be starting up again soon, but right now the faucet of creativity has been turned off and service discontinued. I will post again soon when service is restored.

Yours Truly,
Mrs. C