Meri Benson's Blog, page 26

Music – Imaginative Inspiration or Destructive Distraction?

Music. It’s an expression of how we feel, it’s a way to tell someone something (if they’re listening) when we don’t really know the words, and sometimes it can change how we feel – for better or for worse. I think almost everyone has those playlists that when they’re sad they listen to them, or if they’re in a mood to bounce around an be happy there’s a playlist for that too. And Goddess knows that iTunes and Windows Media player have only made it easier. I still remember the days when you had cassette tapes. And if you wanted mixed artists, you had to create your own mix tapes (and if you’re wondering, yes I still have some cassettes. Specifically my Muppet’s tape. Mahna Mahna is too good a song to ever let go and there’s something special about listening to it on tape.)

Needless to say, being able to store all your music on a harddrive and mix in match in as many playlists has become an amazing asset. I even have a sleep playlist because I can’t sleep in complete silence but I can’t just sleep to anything either. And with Pandora, and similar websites, you don’t even need the music on your harddrive anymore. It’s just that easy to have music at your fingertips, for whatever you need. Which brings me to the point of this post. Writing playlists. I’ve seen a lot of authors talk about how this song or that song inspired them while they wrote, or that they have a playlist or a specific kind of music that they listen to while they write.  Or sometimes it’s not just to write but to inspire specific characters.

Kim Harrison has lists of music that she feels, or fans have suggested, bring to mind specific characters. Carrie Vaughn actually lists the playlist that she listened to while she wrote each specific book in her Kitty Norville novels. And these are just a couple of the authors I read and love who do this and make it well known. I’m sure there are a lot more out there who do.

But it makes me wonder a little.

Am I one of the few that can’t do music when I write?

While it seems to help a lot of authors get in the mood or find that missing piece to be able to get the words to flow more like a moving river than a babbling creek, it does none of that for me. It’s actually the exact opposite for me when it comes to most music. Instead of being a beautiful help to my work, it actually takes away, distracts me, and makes sure that almost nothing will get done on my writing. If it’s lyrical, I end up singing to it and forgetting to type or losing my thought because my brain is concentrating more on getting the right words out. If it’s non-lyrical, my brain tends to pick apart the music on a level that only a musician can. It’s not to say I don’t enjoy the music, far from it. I have a large collection from J-Pop/anime to country to metal to classical to jazz. My newest obsession that I found because I adore Apocalyptica has been 2Cellos, specifically this song they play – and the electric cellos are so cool too. I absolutely love music. Just… not when I’m writing.

And yet oddly enough, through old episodes of Reba on the tv and I can write up a storm. Go figure.

Part of me is curious if anyone else out there is like me, not necessarily in the why but specifically in the fact that they can’t do music while they write either. Feel free to share your thoughts, comments, or experiences.

Book Review: Milk & Cookies & Handcuffs edited by S.L. Armstrong & Kristen Pavka

Milk & Cookies & Handcuffs is an anthology of five stories that revolve around the Holidays and BDSM published by Storm Moon Press and can be found here. Over all this was a great anthology. So long as you like a little BDSM with your Holiday cheer, and believe me it’s hotter than you might think at first, you’ll find something in this book for you.

In the first story, Holidays In Hell by Erzabet Bishop, the story revolves around an Incubus named Jonas and how his sights settle on a human woman named Holly. The characters, both main and secondary, are interesting and I enjoyed the time I spent with them. However, there were several places that I wish it would have slowed down in pace. I know that it’s a short story, which only gives you so much time to really work out everything between plot and characters, but there were certain places where it seemed extremely rushed. Especially in how short it takes for Holly to learn and come to terms with what Jonas is. The other area that got me was the store that Holly works at. I’ve never seen a store that sells everything you could need to decorate your home for Christmas – including twelve foot, artificial Christmas trees, and also sells books; and not just general genre books, but erotica books. Over all, even past the issues I had, it was a decent read.

The second story, Gift of the Familiar by Alex Whitehall, shares the story of William and his familiar Ellis as they share in Ellis’s first First Day celebration. One of the biggest things I loved about this story was how the mythos was weaved into it, both by traditions that were being shared but also by William recanting the story of how the world came to be to Ellis because Ellis had never been told. I enjoyed being able to share the wonder of the Holiday with Ellis. And of course, the very hot scene between them and the rope after everyone left.

Pushing the Line by Verity Blackthorn, the third story, follows Ebet as she brings her girlfriend, Meg, home to the family cabin in the mountains for New Years. Not just her girlfriend either, Meg is her Dom as well. It’s not exactly the easy home coming for Ebet either, worried what her family will do or say with Meg there because they don’t exactly approve of her being with girls and think it’s just a phase. The story is very well written, letting the reader share in Ebet’s worry and nerves as the first day unfolds. And Meg gets creative in both fun and distractions for Ebet to try and calm her some while dealing well with Ebet’s family. The creative play between Meg and Ebet is extremely hot, but I think what made me like this story the most was the ending and the final words of Ebet’s grandmother.

In Gift of Self by Kathleen Tudor is about Athena and her slave-boy Jeffrey. Trans stories aren’t exactly my cup of tea, but I do have to say that this story was amazingly written. The author does a wonderful job making sure the reader joins Jeffrey as his emotions go up and down with the discovery of the fact that he is more a she in a male body. The emotions are portrayed strongly, as is the love between the two characters. And while this isn’t my kind of story I really did like it a lot.

And finally the last story, The Sub’s Gift by S.L. Armstrong and Erik Moore, tells the tale of a submissive named Kyle and how his Master Ryan and Mistress Amber give him a sister slave for Christmas. The play from surprise and hesitance because of Kyle’s past, to his decision in how to deal with this new development in his home is well written and flows incredibly well. As the reader, you flow with Kyle, feeling the range of emotions that this present puts him through and I think it’s a wonderful ride that I was glad to share in.

Like I said in the beginning, there’s a little bit of something for everyone in here if you like your Holidays hot and steamy. And all of the stories do that extremely well too, very hot, very steamy, and occasionally very much wishing you could join in. Very much a suggested read from this reviewer.

Things discovered while editing

It always amazes me sometimes, how things in my story change as I edit them.

With a short story I wrote last year, when I went through edits and it barely changed content wise. It was tighter, better written, and flowed more smoothly and I did add a decent amount of new content, but the core story and what the characters were doing didn’t really change all that much.

However, I just finished editing the newest short story and most of the content has changed. Certain aspects of why a character was doing something or what they were doing specifically had changed. It’s better for it, but it just amazes me some with how different it ended up being compared to the other story I edited. Though I also ended up having a secondary character take over briefly and insert herself in the beginning of the story rather than just have a tiny space in the end of the story. But I also think she deserved that addition so I gave it to her.

First Steps

Finding time to do everything that needs to be done in a day just seems like such a challenge these days. As a kid, there’s never enough time, but it’s for games and fun. And honestly, there really is never enough time for having fun. Especially since fun seems to shrink when set next to work and the rest of life as a whole as we grow older.

Now it’s not just fun I seem to be missing out on, but the ability to write as much as I want. Keeping up with everything is a full time job all on its own sometimes, and then there’s the actual job stuff, and the stories that need attention. Here is to the new year giving a little more time for the better things in life, good friends, good times, and as an author I always need good stories to make it out of my head and into a word document.