Monday, April 29, 2013

COMING UP FOR AIR

I have to admit, and I've said it before, fiction has not been my focus of late. My life for the first four months of 2013 has been all about music, mostly in the Texas music field. Last week, however I entered a different world. I took the opportunity to attend the symphony at the Arkansas Philharmonic at the Arend Center in Bentonville AR. I went for a multitude of reasons.

1) I'd always wanted to attend the symphony but felt I wouldn't fit in. I'm not the high-maintenance kind of person. Don't get me wrong... I love to dress up and do the Cinderella-going-to-the-ball/ enchanted evening trip.

2) I KNEW I'd fit in this time. How could I not when Maestro Steven Byess as well as two of the musicians (Katie Bowden and Dr. Dan Ross) are all my friends.

3) A writer's well of experiences should never run dry. We should empower ourselves by trying new things... even if they mean stepping out of our comfort zone.

4) I LOVE music of all styles, but classic instrumentals nurture the soul. Beautiful Instrumentals has become my favorite DirectTV Sirus channel as background music for just about anything I'm doing unless I need a specific theme for my current WIP.

Part of the experience last week set up all types of scenarios for future stories. There was the frustrating attempt at trying to find THE dress. Having never been to a symphony before, and being friends of the conductor, I was so afraid that what I'd choose would not be 'right'. The last thing I wanted to do was to embarrass my friends. Though deep down I KNOW this would never have been an issue with them. They are genuine and sweet people. But isn't it amazing the way our minds can blow things out of proportion? If you're ever stuck in your novel, have your character over-react to something and see what happens.

And trying something new always stirs up emotions that can apply to various situations such as fear, anxiety, doubt, frustration, not to mention the passion that floods your soul once the music begins.  My favorite piece was the opening... Night on Bald Mountain... which you can hear either by following the Arkansas Philharmonic link above or Here.

Try something new! Enjoy the experience! Live the writing life!
All my best
Angela

1 comment:

  1. Never stop experiencing new things or daring to do what scares you a little. :D

    ReplyDelete