The Voices In My Head

-->

In my “normal” life not many people know I'm a writer. They know me as the someone's mom, the carpool mom, the 4-H mom, the PTA mom, the lady that answers the phone and doesn't let them speak with the luthier (my husband) so they give the lady attitude, and usually that's fine. It's simple. But, every once and awhile the two hemispheres of my life converge.

Conversations will slow, and talk will turn to what we had been doing that day, or someone I know better than most will ask me a question in front of an acquaintance. Folks either react one of two ways: first, dismiss it as a phase or as a character flaw. They have preconceived ideas or notions about people that engage in such long term pursuits of artistic expression and merit (flibberty gibbitt, head in the clouds, and such). So I get an “Ahhh... good for you.” and a pointed change of subject. Yeah, duly noted. The second sort of “typical” response I get is more of a vicarious one. The “Oh! That is so cool! How did you ever come up with that idea? How long do you think the book will be?” and a continual onslaught of questions all the way down to “What kind of music do you listen to when you write?” Creativity can be very mysterious, I have found, and there for intimidating. So, I thought I would take the time to answer some of the more frequented questions. My answers, I understand, are different than some writers. We all have own paths to follow, our own truths to seek.

To answer the top of the Hit List questions...

My background: I have a fine arts background, I taught high school art- including photography and film making- along with all the other standard courses. I have a very visual approach to most things. I also have a Masters of Education degree in Instructional Technology. I am one of the few art majors that can hook up the Wii and get the Netflix working! I believe technology is the great equalizer. It rocks.

What music do I listen to when I write? I don't listen to music when I write. I have music playing most every other time, but not then. My girls have a wide and vast appetite when it comes to their music so I could be listening to Taylor Swift with one girl and then Blood on the Dance Floor with the other. When we are in the car it's usually top 40 radio, Tokio Hotel, or movie soundtracks, like Almost Alice. My husband has a penchant for really old or dead guys with either Red or Bone in their names. So when I'm with him there is a lot of blues, blue grass, classic rock, instrumental rock and the occasional swing. When left to my own devices I listen to what would be considered hard rock and pop rock. I like Rob Zombie, Velvet Revolver, Muse, The Civil Wars, Mumford & Sons. I'm all over the place depending on my mood. But when I write (even right now), no background music. As I had mentioned before I'm a visual person and when I'm writing I can “see” in my mind how a scene is playing out and I can hear the dialog between the characters, like in a play or a movie. I have found that if I have music playing, for me, I end up listening to the music and not the voices in the head. Sounds crazy, but true. The scene usually comes complete with it's own music anyway...

How did I come up with the story idea in the first place? The series that I'm currently writing is about a teenage girl that is, as it turns out, half fairy, and there are all sorts of shenanigans surrounding her. When I was first batting around ideas in my head and jotting down notes here and there about story lines and plot devices I realized I was missing the big “Whoa”. I needed a Voldemort and Dumbledore but I wanted it to be somewhat grounded in myth or folklore, female would even be better. That was when I had stumbled across a university website (at least I think it was) talking about the creationist theories and the whole Adam and Eve story. There they went on to explain how in Hebrew folklore Adam had in fact three wives. The first, was made the same way as Adam, equal in every way, and was called Lilith. The story goes that she and Adam fought horribly. Even thought they were equal Adam refused to see her as such, (a bunch of sexual references later, some concerning animals...) Lilith becomes so consumed by her rage and fury she expells herself from paradise and becomes the first demon, the mother of all demons. After awhile Adam decides he would like to try again with a new mate of the female persuasion. God then creates the Second Wife the same as he had created Adam and Lilith, from the inside out. Right before Adam's eyes he saw his new mate materialize, bone, muscle, veins, skin, and hair. He was so completely discussed by the scene that he refused to touch her. Plus, he argued that if she was created the same way as the first one, she was probably going to be just as difficult. So without even receiving a proper name first name, Second Wife is just cast a side. That then brings us to Eve. One rib to make them compatible and mud and dirt to make her mailable; We all know how well that all turned out... The part of that story that struck me was that after the Second Wife was cast off, there was never anymore mention of her. You hear blips and blurps about Lilith whenever powerful women have come into power in ancient times, but never anything about Second Wife... So I made up one for her. Beginning with her daughter. Voldemort = Lilith, Dumbledore = Second Wife, and they're both female. Double word score!

How long will the book be? Well... that's hard to say. I have a lot of story to tell. The first installment of the series that I am currently refining (already writing book two) is in the 700's. I envision this being a long running series. I love writing it. It's one of the few things in life that have been “easy” for me. Not necessarily fast, that has been the only frustrating part. Right now my writing is part time, my hope, my goal is be a full time in the near future.

If you have any of your own questions, hit me in the comments below :-)