Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Be The Song and IWSG

B is for BE THE SONG by Foy Vance. I discovered this one from the movie WARM BODIES, which, if you haven't seen, drop what you're doing and watch it, like, now. One of my favorite movies ever. I have a feeling I might be saying this a lot this month, lol.

Flow down all my mountains, darling, fill my valleys.



It's also the first Wednesday of the month, which means Insecure Writer's Support Group Time. I'm sharing some of my favorite writing music this month, and a part of me worries if people will thing I'm lame-boring-weird-cuckoo-stupid-nerdy based on either my A to Z theme choice or my taste in music or whatever. Then I tell myself who cares what other people think, this is just for me. And everything is cool in the world.

But THEN I think about my writing and more specifically the PUBLICATION of my writing. I know not everyone will like it. Maybe they'll even think I'm lame-boring-weird-cuckoo-stupid-nerdy for writing it. I tell myself who cares what other people think, this is just for me. But the very fact that it's being published...doesn't that mean it's not just for me? Isn't it for readers, an audience, customers paying money for a quality product? Do I have an obligation to think about what the reader will like, relate to, hate--as I venture into the publishing world? How does one reconcile the two?

20 comments:

Sheena-kay Graham said...

This is a nice song to sit back and listen to. The singer has a nice soft voice with lyrics you interpret in your own way. You wrote your book Ilima and now you have to wait for audiences to give in or walk away. No matter what, remember, you wrote a book! Never forget what you achieved and I think no matter what you'll have fans. I'm betting I'll be one of them.

Alex Hurst said...

Oh, I love this song! I've added it to my Youtube playlist and will go search the artist out on iTunes later. Thank you!

Alex Hurst, fantasy author in Japan. "B is for Books" is my current post.

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

It helps me to remember that not everyone is going to like everything. I don't like everything so why should I expect others to? Our words, our stories will find their audiences. Don't worry! :)

Madeline @ The Shellshank Redemption
Minion, Capt. Alex's Ninja Minion Army
The 2014 Blogging from A-Z Challenge

Donna K. Weaver said...

It's okay if some people don't like your writing. You didn't write it for them. I wrote subverting I would like. People who like what I like tend to like it too. That's my target audience.

LOVE Warm Bodies!

Robin said...

You can't please all of the people all of the time. Fact.

However, if you like it, your beta readers like it, your CPs like it, chances are good that it will find an audience.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Not everyone will like it. That's all right. You like it, and you wrote for a group like yourself who will also enjoy it.

jaybird said...

Dude- you know I will like your taste in music and your book. No one else matters. Muaaah! J/K. You please who you can. Everyone else can go away. Ha.

Warm bodies. How I loved that movie, let me count the ways...Thought I was going to hate it. Thought I would be scared (since I shun all scary movies cause I'm a big chicken) Yet, I found myself laughing my butt off and then crying at the end. LOVED it.

SK Anthony said...

Hmmm I think you/we have an obligation to put a quality product out. Storyline...well, they won't all love our genius, but clearly they need psychological help lol

I like Warm Bodies and the song, by the way ;)

Robin said...

As you know, I just watched WARM BODIES. Great movie (and even cleaner than the book) though it's always easier for me to read the gore than see it:)

Chrys Fey said...

I haven't seen Warm Bodies yet, but I want to! I really do!

And don't ever care what other people think about your taste in music. We all like different music. I have a very eclectic taste from 30 Seconds to Mars to Yanni. As a matter of fact, in my IWSG post last month I shared songs that inspired my writing.

Someone may not like your writing or your music, but that is their opinion. There will be many more people who will agree with you.

Kyra Lennon said...

I think I know a lot about music until I come here and hear songs I'd never heard of before LOL! Another good one!

Suzanne Furness said...

People will have opinions and its only natural to feel anxious about them. I'm sure the vast majority of your readers will LOVE your work. Lots of folks must already LOVE your work :)

Linda Covella said...

Love it! Thanks so much for sharing. Happy A to Z month! http://lindacovella.com/my-blog/

T. Powell Coltrin said...

Just remember, "You can please some of the people some of the time all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time". Write for you and the reader, the griper--not so much.

Great song.

Tonja Drecker said...

I'm not going to drop everything and watch it now - sorry. But I'm definitely putting it on my TBS list (to be seen).
I don't know if we can determine what the reader wants. Not really. So you might as well please yourself and I bet readers will like it too.

amy said...

Great song! I loved the movie Warm Bodies. I hadn't read the book before I saw the movie. I was pleasantly surprised. People always say to write what you love but I think it's hard with all the voices around you telling what's selling, what's not, what readers want to read. It's hard.

Leigh Covington said...

I think that no matter what you do there will always be somebody who has to be a hater. Yes, we want to please our readers, but we also need to write from the heart and be proud of our work. I hear the best stuff about your writing Ilima, so know worries... you are amazing!!! Word is already spreading!

Angela Cothran said...

I think I will feel accomplished if more people like my work than hate it. This is also my philosophy on dinner...although there I will settle for 50/50 :)

J.L. Campbell said...

When the insecurities hit, it's always good to remember that your publisher said yes out of the tons of queries and mss received.

And no, choosing a musical theme is not nerdy in my book.

Enjoy the challenge.

J.L. Campbell writes at The Character Depot
and the Jamaican Kid Lit Blog.

Christina Mitchell said...

I don't think it's a nerdy theme. Though to be fair, I'm so nerdy I actually don't fully understand the challenge.

As far as reconciling your wants as a writer with your audience's wants, I think it's a matter of being conscious of the things that matter to readers because really, they should be important to you too. A story that is interesting, has enough tension and rhythm to keep someone turning the page and has characters that you either root for, sympathize with, or who just plain fascinate. Everything else is details and personal preferences and you can't pander to that stuff. Telling the story well and in a way that the audience can respond to is the best you can do. It's art. It's not meant to be loved or appreciated by everyone. You are writing for you, and writing in such a way, that you can take others along for the ride.

Good luck!