What? No Candles?
Good news. You’re peeking into my writing corner on a good
day. Bad days there are dirty coffee cups stack
As you can see, there aren’t a whole lot of romantic
inspirations on those two walls. No photos of dashing young heroes—that’s what
Pinterest is for. Here’s
my hero board. There’s not a cut-glass bowl of dark chocolates. Hah! As if that
would last even two minutes. And you’ll notice there are no candles or soft
fabric or fresh flowers. So, what in the world inspires me to write romance?
Two things that are invisible . . .
Music
Spotify is my usual haunt that I play in the background as I
write. For each of my stories, I make up a soundtrack. Here’s
the one for Brentwood’s Ward. Or check out my playlists on Spotify under
mmgriep. Almost always it’s instrumental music that makes my mind wander and
heart melt. Think about some of your favorite movies. It’s not just the story
and visuals that touch a person’s soul. Music has a way of crawling into the
deepest parts of the human psyche.
Scent
I’m not a hippie, but there are some lingering aftereffects
of being born in the 60’s. I love the smell of patchouli, myrhh, and lavender.
Not all mixed together, though. That would make me sneeze. The thing is that writing
is sensual, and no, not in the 50 Shades
of Grey kind of way. I’m talking the five senses. Engaging all the senses
tends to make me enter into a scene more realistically and/or romantically.
Sounds kind of mystical, eh? Not really. Studies have shown time and again that
the brain fires all its pistons (disclaimer: my technical term for a big word I
can’t pronounce) better when the senses are engaged.
There’s your peek into my little writing corner of the
world. I admit, though, there is a chair in the corner at my local Starbucks
that’s a little worn from my behind as well.
