Song of the Heart

The things that inspire us are where our dreams first get their spark. Be it a blinding flash of inspiration or a long slow building of ideas, our dreams take form from depths of our passions and loves. This month I will talk about some of the ways I am inspired. Where my stories and ideas come from is not just a single source but from a myriad of different mediums. What inspires you? What makes you dream big, impossible dreams?

It starts a bit slow at first but with each passing moment, it grows brighter. The disparate parts coalesce, taking shape and building upon themselves. Higher and higher it goes, gathering momentum and strength. Then comes my favorite part, a breath, a pause, right before it all crashes down like a wave, sweeping you along with it to places unknown. Music has always been one of the primary creative forces in my life. I do not write, or draw, or create in silence. I usually have a soundtrack driving my imagination forward.

Have you ever found yourself just lost in the music you are listening too? Maybe you find yourself swaying to the beat on a crowded subway, or singing in the car at rush hour and you can’t really pinpoint when you began. I have always loved music, emotion transformed into sound. I even tried to learn to play instruments while growing up, but my amazing sister inherited those genes. I am content to simply listen and dream.

When I pop on some headphones there is no telling what will happen. Where I will go. It might be because of my love of movies (and their soundtracks) that I will usually get some sort of image sequence from musical pieces. The steady rhythmic snare drum in Rupert Gregson-Willams “The Letter” harkens me back to a time of quiet struggle and personal conviction amid chaos. Zed’s “Addicted to a Memory” is a joyful chase scene through the busy shipping yards of a faraway city. I write everything with music in the background. Even these posts! In fact, the whole thrust of this site came from “La Busqueda De Ianna” by Epic Soul Factory, the hammering of the chime, the lofty brass instruments and soaring strings, brought to mind the dreamer forging her dreams upon an anvil.

It will come as no surprise then when I tell you that my writing day usually begins with me plugging in my headphones and cranking up the volume. Each one of the stories I have written (and much more yet to be written) have a seed song. One singular piece of music that first stirred my imagination and allowed the story to take shape. Whether is it the inspiring heights of “Journey” (Skye Lewin) inspiring my current project. The grungy self-reflection and solitude of “What I’ve Done” (Linkin Park) which became the driving character motivation in Watchtower. The rebellious fighting spirit of “When They Come” (Linkin Park) which brought The Pit to life. The unrelenting speed and cheer of “I Want You to Know” (Zedd) which spurned the entire premise of Two Worlds. To the anguished struggle and hope of “Bring us Home” (Tait, Blanca Callahan & Lecrae) that solidified and grounded Scroll Mage. Music shapes and forms every story I write. To this day, each of these songs is indelibly linked to the stories they helped to create. Whenever they cross my ear I remember the emotion, the characters, the feelings I originally wanted to convey for each story. (Can I just say what a joy it was to back and listen to all of those again!)

Music unlocks something deep within my soul, a communion with my subconscious that goes beyond words. The stories that music helps me produce are often representative of the struggles in my own heart. With music, I am vulnerable and open, which is probably why it also is so prominent in my worship as well as my writing. Music frees me from whatever is going on in my life and lets my imagination dream of far off places, cities of magic, beasts of myth, heroes, villains, and those in between. Each story I write is a fragment of myself, accessed via the music that inspires me to create. As long as I have music, I will have new stories to tell.