{"id":242,"date":"2017-07-10T19:55:53","date_gmt":"2017-07-10T23:55:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/dremadeoraich\/?p=242"},"modified":"2017-07-10T19:55:53","modified_gmt":"2017-07-10T23:55:53","slug":"setting-the-scene-to-write","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/10\/setting-the-scene-to-write\/","title":{"rendered":"Setting the Scene to Write"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have a DJ in my head. For some reason, that sucker likes to torment me by playing the same melody fragment of the same song over and over and over for days (or weeks) without pause. Right now, for example, it\u2019s playing a very old Bette Midler tune from her burlesque days. (\u201cIf you\u2019re cracking up from having lack of shacking up\u2026\u201d) The only thing that breaks it off is to feed the DJ a new song, or to play different music, or to watch television, anything<\/em> to give it some new musical phrase or line of lyric. Unfortunately, as a partially deaf music-lover, I don\u2019t always know the words to the songs, so I make them up as I go. It doesn\u2019t always appease the DJ to sing along if I\u2019m not a fully informed participant.<\/p>\n

So a quiet room is sometimes tantamount to tortuous distraction when I write, for the DJ Never. Shuts. Up. I usually listen to a-lyrical (is that a word?) music\u2014psyambient, or New Age, or classical. Favorites include anything by the Peaking Goddess Collective<\/a>, Entheogenic<\/a>, Andreas Vollenweider<\/a>, Carbon Based Lifeforms<\/a>, or even mixes by FrancoFunghi<\/a> and other similar real-life DJs. Sometimes, I listen to pieces from a sound-effect generator (mynoise.net<\/a>), which as a subscriber, I can mix together to create a unique background.<\/p>\n

I usually write in my own space at home, but it\u2019s not unheard of to find me at a busy caf\u00e9, where the background buzz of dozens of simultaneous conversations fill the DJ\u2019s need for sound. Even the main room at a library (which is not as quiet as you might think) can fit this bill. I\u2019ve written at the local botanical gardens, or on the kitchen table at work (after hours, boss! I swear!), or on my balcony at home where the birds and squirrels and neighbors and bugs (get away, spider!) take the DJ\u2019s place.<\/p>\n

Other surroundings don\u2019t count so much as sound, for me. As long as I can see what I\u2019m doing, I don\u2019t need much beyond a flat space for my computer and a semi-comfortable seat for my\u2026well, you know. The Smudginator (see \u201cWhat the Heck is a Smudge?\u201d on the \u201cAbout Me\u201d page), however, doesn\u2019t like it when I write. The keyboard is in direct competition with him for my attention, so wherever I write at home must be specifically equipped to allow ease of opportunity for close personal contact between his ears and my fingers whenever he so desires. If I ignore him too long, he climbs on my leg and \u201cpats\u201d me with his paw while insistently vocalizing his demands. (This is precisely how I learned that the library or a caf\u00e9 or even the gardens are a workable substitute for my own apartment.)<\/p>\n

What about you? Tell me about your writing space, or if you aren\u2019t a writer, where do you go to create your songs\/music\/jewelry\/paintings\/art\/etc.?<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have a DJ in my head. For some reason, that sucker likes to torment me by playing the same melody fragment of the same song over and over and over for days (or weeks) without pause. Right now, for example, it\u2019s playing a very old Bette Midler tune from her burlesque days. (\u201cIf you\u2019re…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-posts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8n0kX-3U","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":228,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2017\/06\/26\/time-is-a-four-letter-word\/","url_meta":{"origin":242,"position":0},"title":"Time is a Four-Letter Word","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"June 26, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I know. I\u2019ve written about time before. I probably will write about it again. It\u2019s that important. Writing takes time \u2013 between day-job and daily commute, between cooking\/eating\/showering\/sleeping, between family and friends and home maintenance, there\u2019s blogging, reviewing, researching, brainstorming, writing and editing and rewriting. That was the point of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1878,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2020\/05\/01\/song-of-blood-and-stone\/","url_meta":{"origin":242,"position":1},"title":"Song of Blood and Stone","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"May 1, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Book 1 of the Earthsinger Chronicles By L. Penelope St. Martin\u2019s Griffin, ASIN: B07SMWXJQN Paperback, 523 pages. \u00a9 July 16, 2019 Elsira and Lagrimar lie close together, yet worlds apart. Separated by the Mantle, a magical veil that prevents travel between the two lands, Elsirans and Lagrimari haven\u2019t mingled for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/SongBloodStone.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":220,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2017\/06\/17\/rewrite\/","url_meta":{"origin":242,"position":2},"title":"Rewrite","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"June 17, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Every writer knows this drill. You put words to paper (or screen), read them over and think, \u201cHey, that\u2019s not half bad. In fact, I am a genius.\u201d Okay, maybe not those exact words. I started my first novel with no clear idea of where I wanted it to go.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1784,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2020\/03\/21\/in-search-of-normal\/","url_meta":{"origin":242,"position":3},"title":"In Search of \u201cNormal\u201d","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"March 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Even if you\u2019ve been living under a rock, if you\u2019re smart you\u2019re probably practicing social distancing wherever possible right now, washing your hands a lot, and tracking the news on a regular basis. Maybe you are home because your child\u2019s school is shut down, or your employer\u2019s had to close\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BeKind.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BeKind.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BeKind.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BeKind.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BeKind.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2015,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2020\/07\/07\/in-search-of-normal-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":242,"position":4},"title":"In Search of “Normal”","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"July 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"{NOTE: I wrote this in mid-March, but never posted it. Even now, months later, I'm surrounded by people who refuse to wear masks or socially distance themselves. One man came into my office at work and, seeing me wearing a mask, made a disgusted face and said, shaking his head,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/BeKind.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/BeKind.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/BeKind.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/BeKind.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/BeKind.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":583,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2018\/02\/05\/up-the-tension\/","url_meta":{"origin":242,"position":5},"title":"Up the Tension","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"February 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve read it over and over, heard it in workshops and plenary sessions. A good story isn\u2019t about any one character or group of characters. Instead, it\u2019s about those characters doing things. Striving, reaching, hurting or being hurt, trying and failing and trying again, coming, going, living, learning. 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