obstacles – Jen's Pen Den

Welcome to Music Monday! As many of you know, music contributes a great deal to my writing process. Whether it’s a song’s lyrics, beat, rhythm, or tone, I find myself constantly inspired by it.

writing-to-music Last week, I sent the third draft of my novel off to my beta readers. Along with it, I sent a note requesting they resist sending back their thoughts and critiques for at least two weeks. Cause I need a break!

As much as I love writing, there comes a point I need to stop, step back, and regain my breath (and sanity). So, that’s what I’ll be doing the next couple of weeks. However, just because I’m not working on a project at this very moment doesn’t mean I’m not listening to music and finding inspiration in it. That’s like asking me not to breathe!

So, today, I wanted to share one of my “go-to” songs by Florence and the Machine: “Shake It Out”.

98eafa9f This is one of those songs that always ends up on my latest book playlist. No matter what story or character I’m creating, “Shake It Out” sparks my imagination, helps me deepen a plot, and pushes me to develop stronger emotions.

My favorite thing about this song is its lyrics.

And I’ve been a fool and I’ve been blind
I can never leave the past behind
I can see no way, I can see no way
I’m always dragging that horse around

In every story, there is some kind of conflict. Characters must overcome all kinds of obstacles, both physical and emotional. “Shake It Out” is a great song to listen to when working through those conflict-driven scenes and developing the emotions your characters experience.

tumblr_m42u4sdu7a1rpj2yxo1_500 So, if you’re looking for a song to add to your book playlist, check out Florence and the Machine’s “Shake It Out”!

What song(s) are you in love with right now? Which one(s) offer you inspiration? Let me know! I’m always searching for songs that motivate my writing.

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It’s Friday! Let’s shimmy, shake, and dance it up!

Why do I always make you dance with me on Fridays? Hmm, maybe I need to find a better way to celebrate the fact we’ve made it to the end of the week?…Or maybe not? I like dancing and this is my blog, so…

Yep, my decision’s made. We shall keep dancing on Fridays. Beware! 😉

A quick sum up of my week goes likes this:

I wrote.

A lot.

Okay, okay. I didn’t write as much as I needed to. Honestly, it was one of those weeks where life distracted me. It didn’t help things got off to a rocky start after spending last Saturday at the Colorado Writing Workshop hosted by Chuck Sambuchino. I’m not going to go into too much detail about my experience at the writing conference since I plan to dedicate another blog post to it. However, I will say it was great and I learned a lot!

It was also completely exhausting. The combination of nerves, focus, frantic note taking, and socializing did a number on me. I woke up on Sunday feeling like a zombie, and I carried that fatigue with me into the week. All I wanted to do was curl up on my couch, watch TV, and sleep.

Thankfully, I snapped out of my weary fog by Tuesday and got myself back on track…Well, mostly. You know, life. Stuff. Distractions.

Side note: I’ve discovered that whenever I create a deadline for myself, God decides to have a big laugh by throwing unexpected obstacles at me. It’s like He says, “Deadline, huh? Hmm, I wonder if I throw this, this, and this at you if you can still finish on time?…Yeah, that sounds like fun. Let’s see how you do–And go!”

Don’t worry, I didn’t eat my feelings or gorge upon ice cream all week…Just a lot of peanut M&M’s 😉

As far as my manuscript goes, I edited the first four chapters (hopefully five by the end of today). Yes, I know I need to pick up the pace if I want to make my January 1st deadline, but…Honestly, I’ve decided I’m not going to rush for the sake of making that deadline. I want things done right, and I want them done well. So, if that means I end up being a week or two late, then so be it.

I believe one of the main reasons I’m working a little slower is because after attending that writing conference on Saturday, I’ve become extra sensitive to certain aspects of storytelling. I find myself tweaking and revising things I hadn’t expected to tweak or revise, and I suddenly see issues I hadn’t seen before.

Oh, the joys of editing 😉

Anyway, that’s it for today. As I mentioned, I do plan on sharing specific details about my experience at the Colorado Writing Workshop later. I learned a lot from the great Chuck Sambuchino and I hope to tell you about some of them. So stay tuned for that!

In honor of my up and down week, filled with edits, exhaustion, and personal hoopla, here are today’s Friday Funnies. Enjoy!

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10256795_890169144327045_3018233349446529036_n How was your week? I’ve spoken to a few of you in private about your progress with NaNoWriMo, and I’m amazed how many have hit the 50K goal/will hit it by the end of the weekend. You’re crazy! And total rockstars!

But, really, whether you’ve hit the 50K goal, are on track to reach it, or are so far behind, you know it’s impossible to make the November 30th deadline, don’t stop! Keep writing. That’s the point of NaNo. Write, write, write!

Jen’s Weekly Roundup

In case you missed my posts from earlier this week, here you go!

Music Monday – Ghost – Ella Henderson

Why You Should Enter the NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge 2015