Wednesday, February 21, 2018

#Music, My Muse: part 5, the finale by Toi Thomas #OurAuthorGang

from Pinterest
So, today, in part 5, the finale, of the Music My Muse series, I’ll be sharing some brief thoughts on musical scores and settings. (see part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4 here).

While it’s quite possible that not many remember, or ever even knew (I’m guilty), the names of the songs that made up some of the most iconic musical scores in history, the impact of these works is no less important or legendary. When people hear “Also sprach Zarathustra” they automatically think of monoliths, deep space, and killer A.I., aka 2001 Space Odyssey. When people hear “Speak Softly, Love” they imagine large Italian American families, mobsters, and a horse’s head, aka The Godfather.

I think there is a musical score out there for every imaginable setting if you’re willing and open to it. Sometimes, though, it doesn’t have to be a score. There are popular songs that can also help shape the setting or world you’re creating, if you know where to look.

While I admit that my Legend of the Boy story isn’t nearly as sweet, the score for E.T. helped me when I was trying to develop an adult-driven sci-fi world where a boy could save or destroy it. To this day, I haven’t been able to figure out why a good slow waltz helped me carve out the settings for my It’s Like the Full Moon book, but it is what it is. There are so many songs and scores that have helped me develop the world of Eternal Curse that I can’t begin to mention them all now.

Even outside of my writing, I find the right score can set the mood in my life. Sometimes when I’m sad, and it’s a time when it’s okay to be sad and express those feelings, I find myself listening to "La Boheme". When I’m trying to hype myself up, when I’m trying to get into the right mindset to do something a little crazy that might be fun, but could totally end up badly, the Rocky theme usually works. And when I’m preparing a meal for a friend for the first time, I find Disney tunes keep me in high spirits as I toil to delight. I hope you’ve enjoyed this series on music and writing and hope that you’ve maybe found some inspiration along the way.

Good music, creative writing, and happy reading.

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Find out more about me, my work, and my inspiration at the following links:


Amazon | Goodreads The ToiBox of Words | YouTube | See a list of my other posts here.

#themesong #score, #soundtrack, #music, #Pinterest

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For anyone who’s interested, I’m sharing a new short story for the W.E.P. challenge over at The ToiBox of Words.
COMMENTS

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Sherry Ellis

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
John Williams is probably my favorite film score composer.
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Trisha F.

11 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Film scores are some of the best, most inspiring music, I agree!
 
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Ruth de Jauregui via Google+

11 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Toi shares her love of music and how it inspires her writing. A fantastic close to her series.
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Ruth de Jauregui

11 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Fantastic. I love music and I do write better when I turn the boob tube off and put on Pandora. Thank you for reminding me.
 
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Joe Bonadonna via Google+

11 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Today on A Small Gang of Authors, Toinette Thomas brings to a conclusion her wonderful 5-part article on music: "Music, My Muse."
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Joe Bonadonna

11 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
This is great, Toi. Sad to see your 5-part series come to an end.
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View all 4 replies
 
+Joe Bonadonna Cool.
 
+Toi Thomas -- thanks. I think you'll like the books i talk about.

Toi Thomas via Google+

11 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
I'm so happy to share part 5, the finale, of my series on music and writing. I hope you've enjoyed Music, My Muse.
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Mary Anne Yarde

11 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Lovely post! I always listen to music when I write!!
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Thank you.

Grace Au

11 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Sorry to see this series of blog posts end. Thanks so much for your take on music and writing, Toi. Brilliant!
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Thank you. Even if it didn't help with my writing, I'd still love music.

Rebecca Tran

11 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
I still remember my dad when I hear certain songs on the radio and he's been gone over 20 years now. But he'd sing them at the top of his lungs and I can see his face clearly with every lyric as if he were right there singing terribly in my ear.
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I love this. What a wonderful memory and testament to just how much music stays with us and even connects us to others.

Rebecca Tran

11 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Find out how music influences your writing and your life with this great post by Toi Thomas on Our Author Gang.
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Erika M Szabo via Google+

11 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
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Erika M Szabo

11 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
It's been a great series Toi, I really enjoyed every part of it :)
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Thank you.

Nikki McDonagh

11 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Great post. Music is a huge part of my life as my husband is a professional musician and composer, so there is always a tune being played whilst I write.
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How cool is that. Two creative people sharing words and tunes together. Love it.

Rich Feitelberg

11 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Interesting post. I recently had to write an elven lullaby for my fantasy series. The words were easy. It was the melody I struggled with.
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As much as I love music, if I had to write it, I'm sure it would be a disaster. That's great that you have the skill to do it.

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