Monday's Muses - A Birthday of Inspiration

My birthday was this past weekend – I always think of a birthday as a personal holiday and a time to do whatever one wants to do the most. I always make sure to be off from work on that day and I always spend part of the day writing. This birthday was really enjoyable and inspiring, from morning until night.

On Saturday morning, I went to a meeting of our local SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) group at Panera in Fishkill, NY. Longtime member Bill Joel gave a presentation on the concept of world-building in fiction writing. With his educator background, it was more like a class, with a great informational “lecture,” a hand-out of helpful resources and even a small-group exercise. And with his experience as a writer of self-published science fiction novels and several sci-fi short stories for middle-grade readers, he knowledgably conveyed the importance of creating detailed, logical and believable worlds in fiction, no matter what the genre. It’s an excellent time for me to address world-building in my writing, and I learned some things that I can apply to the time-travel novel that I’ve been working on – I’m sure they’ll help make the concept of time-travel in my fictional version of today’s world believable.

After the creative inspiration and camaraderie of our writing group, I relaxed for awhile at home and read one of my favorite and most inspiring writers: Francesca Lia Block. I have read most of her books several times, and always make sure to read some of her writing during my birthday month of November. She writes novels, short stories and poetry, for both teens and adults, and I love everything about her writing – her lyrical language; her magical-realism style; her dream-scape L.A. settings; her unique yet relatable characters; and her themes of both lightness and darkness in life. 

Francesca Lia Block

So far this month, I’ve re-read a couple of her short-story collections – Nymph, a series of spare and sensual stories for adult readers; and The Rose and the Beast, a book of creatively modern retellings of classic fairy tales, such as “Snow White,” “Bluebeard,” and “Beauty and the Beast,” for both teens and adults. I re-read Echo, a novel about a teen girl who feels ignored in the face of her parents’ intense love for each other, and who seeks the love she needs from her friendships and a series of relationships, with the point of view shifting, from chapter to chapter, from Echo to the different people in her life. And I read a recent title, Pink Smog: Becoming Weetzie Bat – the prequel to Francesca’s ground-breaking and much-loved Dangerous Angels series. This book was heartfelt and insightful in showing the circumstances in the life of a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles – her father leaving; her mother’s drinking; her misfit status in middle-school; and her struggle for her own identity – that led her to become the quirky and loving Weetzie Bat. Now I’m re-reading the Dangerous Angles series for the countless time. I will always love Francesca Lia Block’s amazing, inventive writing. And even though I know I could never have her unique vision and writing talent, her words and images inspire me to work on developing my own imagination and writing voice for my own books. 

And on Saturday night, Ian and I went to the Towne Crier in Pawling, NY, where we had dinner and saw a wonderful performance by singer-songwriter Mary Fahl. We’ve been longtime fans of her music, since she was with her 1990s band October Project, and we’d seen their excellent show at the Chance in Poughkeepsie, NY in the late-‘90s. But this was the first time we got to see her solo performance, and it had an intimate feeling and a great sound quality. She is incredibly talented, with a beautiful, resonant contralto voice accompanied by her acoustic guitar. Her style is so versatile and compelling – she sang her original songs, from October Project and her solo albums – they have a rich and atmospheric goth/folk sound. I especially love her mythology and literature-influenced songs about sirens, Persephone, and Shakespeare’s Ariel. She also did an amazing cover of Pink Floyd’s “Brain Damage/Eclipse” from her CD that’s her unique interpretation of Dark Side of the Moon - she originally recorded it in 2006 and self-released it as From the Dark Side of the Moon in 2011. And she sang Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now,” Mahalia Jackson’s “City Called Heaven,” Donizetti’s classical aria “Una Furtiva Lacrima,” and “Ben Aindi Habibi,” a Mozarabic language song from 11^th century Iberia. Ian took some great pictures and even a couple of videos as we listened, and I was swept away into a dreamy realm of imagination. Even if I don’t get the chance to write any stories based on the images that were influenced by her songs, I feel that seeing Mary Fahl has greatly inspired my sense of creativity and fantasy. And that’s something I appreciate.

Mary Fahl performing "Bury My Lovely," the first single from her band October Project

Mary Fahl, performing Pink Floyd's "Brain Damage/Eclipse"

Afterward, Ian and I got to meet her – she was so nice, and signed our copy of her From the Dark Side of the Moon CD and even took a picture with us!

When we got home, I stayed up late writing in my journal – the first time I’ve done any journal writing in a couple of months. I feel rejuvenated and motivated again - I want to try to push my imagination into the farthest creative directions that I'm capable of reaching. And for that, I thank my muses - my SCBWI group, Francesca Lia Block and Mary Fahl.