Shaken & Stirred: Aztecy Goodness

March 16, 2006

Aztecy Goodness

I started writing a new book a couple of weeks ago. It's another YA and it's called (~~for now, at least~~) Aztec Dance Tunes. I'm head-over-heels in love with it. With the idea and the characters and the research and how weird it is. I'm so in love with it, I don't even feel guilty for setting aside Roanoke while I write it. Roanoke's just not where my head is at right now. It's in this other place instead.

I'm also trying to write it a bit more deliberately (though not snail's pace) than I usually do for a first draft. I'm focusing on a chapter at a time, trying to do a chapter or two a week, and fine tuning what I've written for a couple of days before moving on. All the while figuring out the larger arcs in the book. And finding little scraps of plays and poems and songs, etc., to start out the various sections with. And reading lots of weird, interesting research material about all sorts of things that may or may not make it in.

Anyway, I often pick out a working soundtrack when I start a new project. I choose songs that capture the feeling or theme of certain incidents or moments I think will be in the book, or sometimes it's a song that I associate with a character and what they're experiencing in the book. It helps. Christopher's work on digitizing our music has made it easier and even more fun this time. (BTW, thanks to all who have commented and sent tips for managing the library.)

Last night I burned my very first iTunes CD, which will serve as the initial soundtrack for writing this book (future playlists to come as needed). I thought I'd throw it up here, because I'm a little in love with all of these songs at the moment. If you were me you could totally see a book written between these lines:

The ADT Playlist

Mouthful Of Air / Catherine Wheel
Your Ghost / Kristin Hersh
Love Is Stronger Than Witchcraft / Robert Pollard
Bucky Done Gun / M.I.A.
(I Was Born In A) Laundromat / Camper Van Beethoven
Galaxies / Laura Veirs
The Moon / Cat Power
Velvet Days / Kristin Hersh
Life Is But A Dream / Tanya Donelly
Monster Hospital / Metric
Service and Repair / Calexico
A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off / The Magnetic Fields
Low / Cracker
Season of the Witch / Luna
A King And A Queen / Okkervil River
Static On The Radio / Jim White
Wicked And Weird / Buck 65
We Could Send Letters / Aztec Camera
Humans From Earth / T-Bone Burnett
Run Devil Run / Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins*

(*Y'all managed to change my mind on this one; it's just that one track that's imitation Neko.)

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The ADT Playlist

(*Y'all managed to change my mind on this one; it's just that one track that's imitation Neko.)

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