Why did the pigeon cross the street?

Today I went to write at the cafe for the afternoon. I go to a pretty wonderful cafe called Cafe Cognito. It's on Main Street and it's located just inside an old dinner theatre; the atmosphere there is quite wonderful. I got there by bus around 1:30 if I remember correctly, but since the bus passes on the wrong side of the road I had to walk over to the intersection to cross the street. As I pressed the button and prepared to cross, I saw a pigeon calmly standing on the other side. When the light turned green and the crossing light appeared, the pigeon and I both began crossing the street.

As I passed the pigeon, I began chuckling to myself despite the cars waiting on either side of me. I got to the other side and looked back - sure enough, there was the pigeon on the other side, making its way down the sidewalk.

Somehow, this isn't even a joke.

Apparently, this pigeon is smarter than quite a few people I know, who amuse themselves trying to jaywalk across busy streets at rush hour... at least it had the sense to wait at a crosswalk!

In other news, I am now well into Part III and currently writing Chapter 65. I had to revamp the entire plot of Part III from the end of NaNo till now because it took me one chapter of it to understand that the plot I had wasn't going to work. Fortunately, I bounced back and I'm now more into the writing than I have been in a long while, so it works out. :)

In OTHER news, I got a job. Check it out. It's epic, just saying. :)

My new job (and therefore source of income) has allowed me the financial stability to sign up for this writing course beginning on March 16th, which I am REALLY excited about. It's offered by a business woman that my esthetician - also a business woman - knows personally, and so I found out about it quite early. It's fairly expensive to me but I think it's worth it, since one can never learn too much about writing!

The woman who gives the course owns a self-publishing company. You can check it out on her website if you're interested in self-publication. :) I personally am not, but you can still take her courses if you're going down the agenting route, so that's good. She said we were going to be talking about editing at parts, which is one of the major reasons why I signed up. I'm at that highly fulfilling yet highly SCARY point in my novel where I realize that I'm kind of almost done. And this scares me, mostly because it's like, yeah, and then what?

Then, EDITING. And lots of it. And do I know the first thing about editing? ... Well, maybe the first thing... but not the second and third for sure! I need help, and this course will give it to me. I know this in my heart. :P

The other day I had a break of musical inspiration and decided to sit down for an hour and recompile my novel soundtrack. A soundtrack with songs applicable to my project has always helped me with the creative process, since music and I are pretty much besties. The story of Life in Black and White has changed a load since I last compiled my soundtrack (in like, Part I), so I decided it required some updating.

If you're reading this and think a novel soundtrack is kinda-sorta a good idea, or you're thinking it might work for you, I HIGHLY recommend you try it out. It helps loads I find!

Here's mine. I highly recommend you listen to all of the songs on my soundtrack, because they are truly beautiful songs whether or not you relate them to my book. :)


Life in Black and White Original Soundtrack
Version 2.0

1. Annie Lennox - Walking on Broken Glass
2. The Beatles - Here Comes the Sun
3. Matchbox 20 - Long Day (The acoustic version works better with the ambiance of my novel, but they're both great.)
4. Gordon Lightfoot - For Lovin' Me
5. Coldplay - Clocks (Main theme)
6. Natalie Merchant - My Skin
7. MIKA - I See You
8. Gordon Lightfoot - Circle of Steel
9. The Beatles - Hey Jude
10. ABBA - Mamma Mia
11. Tegan & Sara - Fix You Up
12. Elton John - Ticking
13. MIKA - Happy Ending
14. Elton John - Dark Diamond
15. Madonna - Borderline
16. Massive Attack - Teardrop
17. Marie-Michele Desrosiers - Ave Maria (There are many, many versions of this - I chose my personal favorite for the soundtrack.)

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Inspiration is found in the strangest of places.

It's G's birthday in four days. So since I failed to finish Chapter 39 for last Wednesday, August 8th is my new, hopefully final deadline. I know, I know, I should be writing instead of updating on here. Shoot me.

I have a question for anyone who might happen upon this blog. Where do you get your writing inspiration? For me, it happens in all sorts of places and all sorts of times. I'll often get a good idea in the wee hours of the morning, on a short day trip (on which I have NOT brought a writing pad, of course, because I'm just that lucky), or in the shower. One of my most important subplots came up in the shower, actually, almost fully-formed.

But for the most part, my inspiration comes from music. I've always been that loser who makes soundtracks for her stories. Simply put, when I hear a song that reminds me of my novel in any way, it motivates me to write. When I hear a song that reminds me of a certain part or chapter, I want to write that part or chapter. I listen to music every waking moment, or at least almost.

Currently, I am quite in love with the new Black Eyed Peas hit "I Gotta Feeling". Mika's new "We Are Golden" is also a huge one for me right now (it certainly helps that Mom is Mika's hugest fan and basically stalks him). If we're talking long-term, though, Gordon Lightfoot's "Carefree Highway" is my personal favorite novel-fitting song. And those are just a few of the tunes that have inspired me over time.

What inspires you? What motivates you?

In other news, I have completed Chapter 36. Moving on. :)