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From Breathless Moment to HEA   

10/31/2013

8 Comments

 
Picture


People, places, poetry, perfume, music—these are sources of inspiration, sensory stimuli that trigger memories or images we shape into moments in our stories. We draw on this store of experiences to create realistic characters and settings, and emotional responses. After all, if we can capture the essence of something which has moved us, that moment of truth, we can elicit a similar response in readers.

Consider the power of a piece of music.

In my debut novel, White Ginger, two songs provided pivotal moments. When Arne returns to Kauai ready to tell Amelie he loves her, Etta James’s “At Last” plays as background. I set the song to play on a continuous loop on my iPod while I wrote. Both music and lyrics inspired me and the scene almost wrote itself. Then, being the Il Divo fan I am, I couldn’t go past “The Man You Love” for their wedding dance. (Or maybe it was just an excuse to hear Carlos sing those beautiful words to an audience of one!)  Feel free to share the pleasure! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhHiArf6mU0

On a recent trip to visit my daughter in Melbourne, we took a tram ride along Flinders Street where an abandoned red brick building caught my eye. Over our long weekend stay at the Langham Hotel, I kept thinking about that building as Melbourne worked its magic on me. The meeting between Andie and Matt emerged as the opening scene to my WIP, Merger in Melbourne.

The taste of grilled aubergines and tomatoes, the crisp tart flavour of limoncello as I sat opposite the Duomo in Amalfi, that first sight of Tiberius’s palace ruins and the Blue of the Tyrrhenian Sea beyond--I have multiple story ideas that have their roots in last year’s trip to Italy. It’s wonderful to relive moments and places through my writing and share them with readers. But this propensity to daydream does have an occasional drawback when I realise, in the midst of a conversation, that I’ve ‘zoned out’ and lost the thread because a moment or a whole scene for a story has filled my imagination.

Yep, I’m a great travel companion alright! Thankfully, my apparently random musings are not only tolerated by friends and family, and my children have grown up to appreciate the wonderful world in which we live--the beauty of moonlight on water, and the perfume of a glorious rose. They've also learned to ‘walk in another’s shoes’ and to live in a moment of wonder.

Writers give these gifts to readers all the time and we are blessed to have fantastic storytellers among us who, through the richness of their stories and their wordsmithing skills, evoke wondrous moments for their readers.

I hope you’ll come back to visit as my guest writers share some of their inspirations.

Till next time,

Susanne


8 Comments
Noelle Clark link
11/1/2013 04:34:13 pm

Oh Susanne. I totally am synched with you. And I bet you knew I'd be the first to respond to this. :-) You know what makes me tick, and I think we both have a lot in common re the rewards we accrue from travelling, learning about different cultures, and - as you say - walking in another's shoes. As writers, it is our honour to share the stories of our experience with those who cannot travel. I loved this post, and am looking forward to reading more in the future. Thanks.

Reply
Susanne Bellamy
11/1/2013 05:00:58 pm

Knew you'd be here, Noelle! Capri weaves a spell over everyone and I can understand why it is the setting for your soon to be released "Rosamanti". I look forward to revisiting Capri with your next book. Thanks for visiting me!

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Helene link
11/2/2013 05:46:43 am

A lovely post, Susanne. I'm guilty of doing that 'zoning' out thing mid conversation as well - most disconcerting I suspect for anyone talking to me. Thanks for sharing some of the music you use. I too find a song will lodge in my brain and stay there until the book is written. It may well drive Capt G mad but he's given up complaining!

Reply
Susanne Bellamy
11/2/2013 04:42:11 pm

Hi Helene,
So pleased to know I'm in such good company and not alone in zoning out! I'm lucky in having my study two floors above hubby's so if I replay a piece of music twenty times, I won't drive him insane. Perhaps Captain G has developed his ability to zone out too? ;)

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lily malone link
11/2/2013 11:16:18 am

Lovely post Susanne. I had to think a while about my 'breathless' moment... but I think it was in 1990 when I went to the wonderful place that is Victoria Falls. I have a photo that was taken of me out on the bridge that spans Zambia and Zimbabwe. The falls are all misty behind me and I'm wet from the spray - and you can see in the photo that I'm holding my breath (literally). I've never forgotten that feeling! One day, I will go back.

Reply
Susanne Bellamy
11/2/2013 04:44:52 pm

Thanks for stopping by, Lily. I'd love to see your 'Falls' photo. Hope you'll post it on your page! Vic Falls is on my bucket list--'someday' will come.

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Kate Belle link
11/4/2013 04:03:24 pm

A lovely post Suzanne. Etta James' At Last was my first pick for our wedding songs. Such a glorious soulful voice and that backing saxophone. Always a a sucker for a sax. (With an a, but an e will do! ) x

Reply
Susanne Bellamy
11/8/2013 07:20:07 pm

Oh, Kate! LOL! But yes, Etta's voice with that sax is beautiful. We were going to play "On This Night of a Thousand Stars" from "Evita", but our DJ didn't have the appropriate equipment for our tape. Come to think of it, he barely had any songs appropriate to a wedding. Heaven knows what function the boy thought he was DJ-ing at!

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    Story elements surround us every day, from new places to a favourite piece of music or an odd moment witnessed in passing that becomes a scene in our work. On this weekly post, fellow authors will share some of what inspires their stories and their lives. Sit back and make yourself comfortable with the drink of your choice as the curtain rises. 

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