When I emailed Kelly Love Johnson this week, asking if she’d do me the honor of editing my book, I meant, you know, a little later. When you’re free. I didn’t think she’d say I can get started right now. And that within the hour she’d map out a plan to spend the next month or so whipping the manuscript into shape.
Her plan does not involve me sitting back and eating bon bons. Or if you saw my Facebook status yesterday, eating cake icing straight out of the container. She edits. I write.
And so, it’s time to flip that switch in my brain that allowed me to work in TV newsrooms for years and meet tight deadlines every single day. It’s time to unleash my inner bad mamma jamma. That’s where you come in.
In the comments section, please provide one or all of the following:
a) a song that inspires you. One that makes you dance in the kitchen or play air drums in your car. I’ve already added Dog Days are Over by Florence and the Machine (thanks, Kelly) and Eye of the Tiger (thanks, Rocky).
b) an inspirational/motivational/get- er-done kind of quote. I shall decorate my work space with them.
c) someone I can channel (real or fictional) when my inner bad mamma jamma fails me. I have Tami Taylor from Friday Night Lights on standby. I need more backup.
Okay? Ready set go! (and thank you!)
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Nike was right. Motivate yourself. JUST DO IT.
Kathy, I can always count on you.
No judgment………..Pour Some Sugar on Me by Def Leppard and the entire Viva la Vida set by Coldplay.
No judgment. I’m hot, sticky sweet…
OK, super weird, but JUST as I was reading this, Pandora played Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar on Me. Pandora is either looking over my shoulder or is psychic. Seriously, I was considering updating my FB status to “Pandora is playing Def Leppard and my brain just ran all the way back to my high school girls’ restroom and smoked a cigarette without inhaling.”
Omg…
Go Angie Go!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKqV7DB8Iwg
Let’s Get it Started!
Runnin, runnin, and runnin runnin…
May seem cheese-y, but I love to rock out with Taylor Swift’s “Sparks Fly”. She’s young, writes her own stuff, and makes me feel young because I sing just as well as she does – when no one is around, that is.
Ha! Some Taylor Swift songs have sparked some of my own epiphanies. (Did I just say that out loud?)
there is a song that always manages to put me up whenever am down
its called no giving up now by cross fade
Oh, yeah. The playlist needed a little rock.
James Taylor’s Carolina In My Mind to keep you grounded.
In my mind I`m goin` to Carolina
Can`t you see the sunshine
Can`t you just feel the moonshine
Ain`t it just like a friend of mine
To hit me from behind
Yes I`m goin` to Carolina in my mind
Yoda’s “do or do not, there is no try”
You are the essence of Fergie, get on with yo bad self.
I bet Tami Taylor, Fergie and I could tear up a dance floor.
Energy? You want HIGH energy? Then this is it. From my days as a teen and it still gets me going and makes me want my bad boy husband driving his motorcycle and me clinging to his back (through in truth, I’l probably be kinda scared!) “Born to be Wild” by Steppenwolf as sung for Easy Rider. https://www.facebook.com/?sk=music&song_id=10150334931035519
And James Brown’s “Get Up (Offa That Thing) is the other. https://www.facebook.com/?sk=music&song_id=10150275851449863
Being a little scared makes doing it all that more exhilarating.
Love love love Get up Offa that Thing!
“Let’s get this party started.” P!nk!!!!! YES! I’m now dancing around my office – knocked over a pile of papers and my tea cup…………gah………….now I know why I do not play my “cleaning” playlist while I’m at work.
Have an awesome one.
Pink is the ultimate badass.
Cotton-eyed Joe, “It’s not what people call you,it’s what you answer to…..”,Nene Leaks
I don’t know if Cotton-eyed Joe inspires me, but it would definitely make me dance in the kitchen.
That’s one of my favorite songs for the gym.
My suggestions are my son Harrison’s two favorite songs in the entire world: Jay Sean’s “Down down down” and Usher’s “Omigosh”. They are on constant rotation in the car, house…good dance jams!
I can see little Harrison shaking his groove thang!
Dazz Band – Let It Whip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm5eF4vpVz8
This song ignites spontaneous dancing among 2-year-olds. Blake and I approve.
a) “Carolina Girls” – you can shag with the door knob! I use too! And of course, your favorite “September”!
b & c) “Wouldn’t take nothing for my journey now.” Maya Angelou
Ah, yes. Maya Angelou can be my anchor. The door knob makes an excellent dance partner.
Okay Angie, I am about to share a peak into my very own little box of tricks. I have never shared these with anyone, so if you pass them on make sure the person is as deserving as you!
I, too, use music, words and muses as inspiration.
My two favorite “inspire me, lift me up, and put me in the mood” songs are Purify Me by India Arie and Pieces of Me by Ledisi. Once that has kicked off my feel good vibe, I then listen to Smooth Jazz and I particularly love anything by Boney James. Go to Jazzradio.com and select the Smooth Jazz genre and just listen while you type. The smooth jazz has no words, so I don’t have to be concerned with being distracted because I decided to start singing instead of writing.
Go to Sue Monk Kidd’s website. She has a aection called Reflections. Ahe shares lots of tips and quotes and wonderful words of inspiration. I love her. She is my favorite author. If you havent read any of her novels, then I recommend Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair. Heres the link to her site. You will be motivated…I promise.
http://www.suemonkkidd.com/Reflections.aspx?t=w&i=1
As for who you should channel, well, that depends on what you are writing and the response you are looking to elicit. For example, if your intention is to come off as quiet and gentle, then don’t go channeling Nicki Minaj! LOL! And vice versa. Think of key people in your life, on TV, in books. And assign different people to different characteristics. When you need to be Bold, then tap into the person that you have assigned to boldness. If you want to allow yourself to be fearful, then connect with the person whom you have charged with being afraid, and so on.
We have a lot of common loves: India Arie, Sue Monk Kidd, Secret Life of Bees… yes yes yes!
Thanks for sharing your secret weapons.
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
- Thomas Edison
Dream Dreams
Then Write Them
Aye But LIVE THEM FIRST!
- Found on a rock in Boston
I remember when you posted that quote on Facebook a while ago. I love that.
Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten”! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7k0a5hYnSI
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
Chills…
holy cow, there are so many! but the 1st one to come to mind is… “Boogie On Reggae Woman” -Stevie Wonder…
and…”just do it!” -Nike (is you will)
or… “breathe” -lots of people
Can’t wait to read it. Congrats on the journey!
I can’t believe I’ve never heard that Stevie Wonder song… awesome. Definitely makes me want to boogie.
Ok…I like Love Shack by the B-52′s. It is on my running playlist on my iPod. That gets me moving.
As for inspiration, I like Jill Connor Browne from The Sweet Potato Queens Book of Love. A most hilarious romp through Southern female culture.
She has 2 quotes that I like particularly:
1.Try to avoid getting involved with somebody who’s gonna need killing before it’s over. It may seem to you that that narrows the field somewhat, but be diligent.
2. If some area of your life sucks – do something else. Life is too short – and too long – to spend it being miserable. Life may indeed be short but it is for a fact wide. It is high time we started settling for more.”
While one has nothing to do with writing or getting motivated, it makes me laugh. If all else fails, go the Sweet Potato Queens Big Ass Cookbook and Financial Planner book and get the recipe for Fat Mama’s Knock You Naked margaritas…that’ll do it!
You may be surprised how well number one applies…
Number two is pretty much the big reason I’m writing a book. And those margaritas sound too awesome to drink alone. Just sayin’.
Can’t come up with a particular song, but I have my Pandora station heavy with Joe Cocker, Van Morrison and the Rolling Stones. And I play it loudly when writing. It also helps that I like to get up and flail (dance) around the room occasionally, it keeps the blood flowing to the brain. Plus I can count it as my “exercise” for the day.
The only advice I try to follow while composing is Stephen King’s “adverbs are evil, kill them all” paraphrased.
It’s sort of weird, but my female protagonist had some rebellious teen years and I often channel that teenage righteous fury for when I need to kick it up a notch.
I have photographs that Jason took in Arizona and Utah above the desk so I can lean back and look at something beautiful.
P.S. Kelly Love Johnson is the best ever! She read both my manuscripts and gave me a ton of feedback that was spot on. Following a lot of her advice in combining the two books into one. Taking scissors to my darlings.
Aww, Janet! I loved reading your manuscripts! And flattered that you asked me to be a reader. It was a pleasure.
I’m a big fan of flailing and dancing. There’s been a lot of that going on the past two days. I’m pretty pumped.
Would it be to editor-ish of me to inquire why you’re here putting a playlist together instead of turning words into sentences into paragraphs into pages?
I already have some “Angie time” set aside for this weekend!
Snicker. (Because it’s not me in trouble.)
*sticks out tongue at snickering one*
And now this editor just realized she posted her own grammatical error: “would it be TO editor-ish…” Yes, my brain gets tired around Wednesday and wakes up on Saturday mornings.
And don’t make me separate you two.
“looks busy”
Wow, it’s like one big party on here! My three:
1) Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park” (I am not a great dancer but my formative years happened to the sounds of 70s disco, to this date the only music that will get me bopping!)
2) “I’ve realized that happiness is movement in the body and stillness in the mind” (Shauna James Ahern aka Gluten Free Girl)
3) Helen Mirren ~ this might seem a strange choice but I find her fascinating and inspiring, and she has a lot of class, like you
Sending you lots of good vibes for the next few weeks xo
Helen Mirren is fascinating, inspiring and classy… so I’ll take it! Thank you.
1. Carly Simon’s Let the River Run …the Working Girl version ( always love channeling my inner Tess McGill when I need a lil help!)
2. If you want to get to Heaven, you gotta raise a little hell. <— always makes me smirk a little
3. I already said it in #1 …. Tess McGill in Working Girl. Sometimes you just gotta do what you just gotta do!
Go get em, Angie!!
xox
Can’t have a playlist without Carly….
So I thought of another song…Closer to Fine by the Indigo Girls. It’s not so much a dance inspiring song as much as lyrics inspiring. My favorite line is the one that says “I wore my fear around me like a blanket. I sailed my ship of safety til I sank it.” I can fully relate to that. And as the song goes, “the less I seek a source for some definitive, the closer I am to fine…”
I’ve been trying to think of the perfect song to round out the playlist… and I think this is it!
Ok a little late, but my get me motivated singer is Anastacia, and her song, “Paid my dues” is a
kick-ass get goin kind of song. I also really like Queen to get me going, specially “We Will Rock You”.
As for motivational sayings, I had some hot tea last night, and the tags on my Yogi tea bags were perfect:
1. Appreciate yourself and honor your soul.
2. When the mind is backed by will, miracles happen.
And finally, if you are trying to channel a determined woman, this is who came to mind: the Cathy Bates character in “Fried Green Tomatoes”…….particularly her attitude in the grocery store parking lot scene with the young girl.
You are THE woman Angie………..you can do this.
Love ya girl.
Hi Angie,
Definitely the Isley Brothers “Living In The Life.” And Shannon Let The Music Play.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGnEfzxuJY0
g.
added!
My fave song of the moment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0uBGODaHL0&feature=player_embedded#! ~ brighter than the sun!! ~
Love that! I hadn’t heard it, but I can see why you like it.
Im way late too and not much for inspiration…but lady gaga, Justin timberlake, abba, black eyed peas, and the Beatles are things I listen to on pandora. Also mom just sent me the Adele 21 album…it rocks. Pinterest is chock full of quotes. My mind is literally a sieve and I don’t remember anything
I almost added Adele’s Rolling in the Deep, only because it’s awesome! I need to check out this new album. She’s one of my favorites. Here’s the playlist… I think there are a few on here you’d like:
http://www.playlist.com/playlist/22548371467