Friday, 21 November 2014

Writing Music: Ashland's Song

Some pieces of music are great for listening to while writing, perfect for playing in the background during a focused writing session. Others are full of inspiration for settings, scenes, characters or even whole stories. Today’s writing music is a beautiful song called Ashland’s Song, by my favourite acappella musician, Peter Hollens. This piece inspires both characters and scenes for me.

The lyrics of this song talk to me of a parental character who loves their family with all their heart. The song talks specifically of a baby, but I could imagine this character watching any aged child during a significant event in their lives. It could even be a grandparent looking at their child and their grandchildren, remembering when their children were young. So many beautiful family scenes could be crafted out of this piece.


What does this song inspire for you? Have you ever written a closely knit family? What’s your favourite fictional family?





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6 comments:

  1. Heather22 November 2014 at 14:36

    Oh, I am dying of the cuteness. I am dying of the feels. But really, though, it's awesome. I'm working on a family-based work right now; the MC was kidnapped from her parents... pretty much the exact moment she was born. By her mother's brothers. It's very exciting, I'm afraid, and so she has to choose between closeness and trust and belonging. It's very hard to write. :( BUT that's okay because I need the practice. As for my favorite fictional family? The Parrs, from The Incredibles. Yup.

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    1. Unknown24 November 2014 at 17:34

      The baby just makes the video I think. I melt a little inside every time I watch this. Ooh, that sounds like an amazing story. Is the the same one you posted about in your Beautiful Books post, or is it a different one. The Parrs are one awesome family. I think about them and I get Dash saying "That was the best vacation EVER." I want his vacation...

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  2. Aimee Meester24 November 2014 at 03:34

    Peter Hollens. Yesssss. I approve. (His voice is magic. I'm sure of it.) I really enjoy writing close families; I live in a rather large family that's the most supportive and wonderful thing I could ever think of, so it's something I place a high value on. And oh, dear, I can't think of a favorite fictional family right now, of course. It pops right out of my head as soon as it's important. xD

    But anyway...I've nominated you for two blog awards! You can find the stuff for that here.

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    1. Unknown24 November 2014 at 17:36

      Peter Hollens is amazing. (I'm sure his voice is magic. How else is he so good?) Close families are amazing. What I find is quite rare though, is one where all the members of the family, including the parents are important and close, though maybe I'm reading the wrong books. But it's quite a trend to have a parentless family.

      Thank you! I'm honoured. I'll pop right over and take a look.

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    2. Aimee Meester25 November 2014 at 04:09

      I definitely agree with that...I get that it adds more drama or something to have family that isn't there/doesn't get along, but I'd love to see more close families in fiction.

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    3. Unknown25 November 2014 at 15:07

      I've read a couple of books with close knit families, not nearly enough, and I've actually found that I really, really like having a family stand together against the world. I love the drama that comes from infighting amongst family members, but there's actually a lot more that can be done with a close nit family than I originally ever thought. Hopefully we'll see more of those in the future.

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