So, you may be wondering why I’m not
writing a review today. Rest assured, I won’t be discontinuing that feature
permanently. I’m just taking a break to do something different during November
because National Novel Writing Month deserves lots of attention. (Come
December, I will return to my normal Monday reviews). In the meantime, you can
expect a post much like this every Monday and a pep talk every Wednesday. (Some
of you may remember my pep talks from last year.)
While every writer, in the end, needs
to buckle down and avoid all distractions in order to get words on the page, let’s
face it—it’s fun to procrastinate. And because I’m (only slightly) diabolical,
I figured I’d do what you probably don’t want me to do. I shall be the little
devil on your shoulder offering you all sorts of lovely diversions.
But maybe you should listen to this shoulder
angel instead:
See what I did there? Really, though,
I’m probably a lot more like this guy:
You’re welcome.
Okay, I’ll try to be serious now.
Many writers enjoy listening to music
while drafting/editing, and I know it can be a struggle to dig up new and
interesting tunes when you’re on the clock. Here are some songs I’ve enjoyed: I
always fall back on this one if I can’t think of anything else to listen to, and I just discovered this one a few weeks ago. Feel free to play them while I talk—I won’t be
offended.
All set? Okay, let’s keep this ball
rolling. Despite my mild maniacal side, I really don’t want to sabotage your
entire day. Or maybe I do.
I realize you just put in your ear buds
(or perhaps you didn’t, it’s all the same to me), but here’s another goody you
might enjoy, if you find white noise is better for getting you into the writing
zone.
Now, I like to read interesting
articles that give my brain something to munch on, so I figured I’d throw a
couple more links at you. But first, story time: When I was around eight
years-old, I told my mom that I see letters, numbers, weekdays, and months as
having color. I actually referenced this in a post a while ago, but
I didn’t go into a whole lot of depth with it. For a long time, I thought it
was this weird OCD tic of mine, and that no one else was like that. Recently,
though, it has come to my attention that I am not going crazy (okay, maybe I
am, but that’s beside the point). I have a condition known as synesthesia, which
basically means some of the things that trigger only one part of a normal brain
will trigger two or more areas in my brain. There are many symptoms of this
condition—people with synesthesia might literally taste sound, smell color, feel
music (as a physical sensation), or any other sensory combination. If you would
like to read a better explanation than my poor attempt, here’s a link,
and I highly recommend that you check out the article because it’s super
fascinating. Here’s another, if you want even more information on the subject.
Well, I’ve probably held you up long
enough, so I’ll just leave you with this article about Milgram’s Experiment on Obedience to Authority.
And I will be back on Wednesday with a pep talk for all those participating in
National Novel Writing Month.
Discussion time, my little coffee
beans. Did you like the funny videos? Do you have any musical suggestions of
you own? Do you have synesthesia/know someone with the condition? Are you
writing anything for NaNoWriMo or do you plan to sit this one out?
