Music & Writing

I like music. No where near as much as I like books, but it's still pretty high up the 'this makes me feel good' ranks. That said there are some great boogie tracks out this season making me want to go out dancing rather than sit at home writing. 
My solution? Do both.
Na, na, na, na, na, na...once upon a time, in a land far, far away...gimmie, gimmie that base. 
ROTFL.
Ahem. *serious face* Music is inspirational. It can make you laugh, cry, or feel stupidly happy. If you're having a great day and need to write a death scene, or concoct a twisted tale of darkness, it can be somewhat difficult to get the words on the page to behave. Music can help create an atmosphere and nudge me into the boundaries of my emotional zones. Then I can draw myself closer toward 'that place' in my imagination, rather than forcing my mind to switch from happy to sad.
I don't know if that works for anyone else, but it's a winner for me.

8 comments:

  1. Hey Penelope! Just finished your book on my iPhone. Thanks for the free read by the way! It was pretty entertaining!

    Just a couple questions though:

    Did you have a editor or beta-reader go over it? Because there are some pretty wicked grammar, spelling and punctuation errors. Plus there are parts in the book i felt could have been streamline and other parts that could have been expanded upon. And is this an actual physical novel some where? In a book store? Or just this free download? Have you written anything else? Or did you just write this novel and get it published online? I am kinda confused as to how it came to be.

    Oh well either way I am looking forward to the next book in the series. The demon girl, dispite some errors, was still a fun read! Cheers! -Tawnie

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  2. Hi Tawnie,

    Thanks for the message.

    Well, I'm kicking myself now, because I had no idea this book was going to be popular. I had expected 50 downloads, period. And in a month it's already been downloaded 4,000 times, and people like the story. You could have knocked me down with a feather.

    I had submitted The Demon Girl to to agents, had a negative response, so figured it was a dud. I think a lot of people think I had a team of super gurus behind me like most writers at a publishing house do to proofread etc, but it was just me. And after a while I became blind to my own mistakes.

    So in answer to your questions, nope, I had no editor look at it, and there are probably areas that could have been improved if a professional had reviewed it. Since it was self-published, and not a money making endeavor, I didn't think it would matter if there were a few errors since "nobody's gonna download the damn thing" (my own words).

    How recently did you download it? I have uploaded a newer, cleaner edition since so many people raved how good it was, but told me off about the lack of proofreading, but it takes a while for updates to filter through the distribution systems.

    The Demon Girl is the first book I have ever written, and at the moment it's a free eBook download only, and will remain one. I'm writing the sequel, and another novel with a different story line.

    Thanks again for taking the time to find me and feedback! Hope to hear from you again with nothing but praise for he sequel A Demon Day.

    :)

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  3. That is so cool that it is becoming so popular! I kinda figured it might. And I also got the feeling that you were a "one man band" sorta deal and that no one had read it over. It kinda reminded me of the same sort of quality as a Fanfiction piece or something.

    It was really good though! The story was engaging and I wanted to find out what happened right away dispite it's lack of "polish". Haha hence why I read it in one sitting! The spelling grammar stuff was just distracting is all.

    How did you manage to get it set up as a digital download? (thanks again for that by the way) I downloaded my copy on the 7th I think.

    Well I hope the story continues to gain popularity! Maybe by the time your second one is ready a publisher will take you seriously! 'cause I think this could be a hit!

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  4. Oh and I have beta-read for people in the past. So if you need help let me know. Beta-readers are a good way to go because they are FREE(!!) and a second set of eyes is always nice. Editing your own work is heinous. And almost impossible.

    -cheers! Tawnie v

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  5. Oh, yeah. So you downloaded it on it's first ever release into the big bad world. A few days later when my massive fail was clear, I managed to clean it up a bit, but still I am probably still blind to a number of mistakes.

    I might just take you up on the beta-reader thing. I could use all the help I can get! :)

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  6. Oh ok! Well I'll try to figure out how to redownload it.

    And of course! tawmie@gmail.com is my email address so feel free to contact me there. Or http://www.facebook.com/tawmiedutch is my Facebook. If you wanna contact me that way instead. Laters!

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  7. CrystalOwen15.11.10

    I loved your book the story line was amazing! I am however a little confused about some of the things that were going on I had to go back and re read some but It was really good. I will even pay to read your next book. Congratulations on pushing for what you wanted!

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  8. Hi Crystal,

    Thanks so much for taking the time to come find me and comment!

    If you have the time to come back to me, knowing, which bit's confused you would be good to know, and maybe I can clarify...?

    The sequel will be out June/July time next year, and the print version of The Demon Girl will be out January (I have a copy-editor now, and so the niggles people found in the older digital editions will be obliterated).

    I'd love for you to like it on Facebook, and feedback wherever you downloaded it from.

    Thanks,

    PJ

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Ta!