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All posts for the month April, 2015

Salvation Quote #1

Posted by Aeon Igni on April 29, 2015
Posted in: Quotes, Salvation, Science Fiction Writing, Writing. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Very early in becoming an author, you realize that writing is an art. Creating a finished piece does not simply require putting pen to paper – it takes hours of painstaking work to write, revise, revise again, and then revise some more, and often you still aren’t entirely happy with the finished product.

I find that writing lines from the characters’ voices can be especially hard in science fiction. Taking in unique, unearthly situations and using your characters’ perceptions, perspectives, logic and speech to describe and react to those situations is what makes the fictional world truly real.

I have selected a some quotes from Salvation to share over the next few weeks, and hopefully you will get a sense of the characters and the story behind them as each new quote is added to the mix.

salvation_quote2

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Dark Romance Inspiration Song #2: Beautiful by Pop Evil

Posted by Aeon Igni on April 24, 2015
Posted in: inspiration, Romance, Science Fiction Writing, songs. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

you’re beautiful – you’re beautiful to me
don’t ever say you never lost your way
you’re beautiful today
and every day for the rest of your life

Last week, I mentioned that I often use music to get myself ‘into the mood’ for writing. One of the songs I used for my soon-to-be-released steampunk series is Beautiful, by Pop Evil.

This song is special to me because it communicates strongly and clearly that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and that each of us is beautiful to someone. It really fit the series, because my hero, Cyrus, has bionic legs and a bionic eye from being involved in a mine explosion, and my heroine has been through her own battles working underground in a mine for five years. Neither of them feel beautiful, but each of them is beautiful to the other, and eventually comes to see that beauty in themselves.

Creating this type of feeling before writing is very important to me, because I want my characters to be beautiful despite their flaws, or perhaps because of their flaws. . I can only hope that my characters inspire the feelings of love and self-acceptance in the reader that this song inspired in me when I was writing.

And this idea doesn’t have to be relegated to the realm of fiction. I think it is important to remember that YOU are beautiful, flaws and all. In fact, your flaws are probably your greatest undiscovered assets. They make you unique, they give you obstacles, and they imbue you with character.

for the rest of your life
for the rest of your days
you feel it inside in every way
for the rest of your life

 “Beautiful”
Written by Leigh Kakaty, Davey Grahs, Johnny K & Shaun Michael Lichtenstein
Performed by Pop Evil on the Album Onyx

Dark Romance Inspiration Song #1: Angel by Theory of a Deadman

Posted by Aeon Igni on April 17, 2015
Posted in: inspiration, Personal, Romance, songs. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

i’m in love with an angel
heaven forbid
made me a believer
with the touch of her skin

I often use music as a catalyst when I’m writing. The combination of lyrics and melody can instantly evoke powerful emotions and imagery in the listener…and since as an author I am trying to do the same in the mind of the reader, it helps me to get into that state of mind when I’m writing.

There are many songs which I consider to be almost akin to the musical version of romance novels. However, often people think of typically ‘pop’ songs in this category. I tend to like darker music, and heard this dark ballad, Angel, for the first time today on the local hard rock station.

I was instantly swept away by its power and beauty. To me, the lyrics read as a wonderful prologue to a dark, paranormal romance, where the man comes to the realization that he has to let go of the love of his life.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the video uses strong, romantic imagery typically seen on the covers of romance novels, a beautiful woman in a white gown walking through the forest, often superimposed with the image of the singer. She heals a white dove by whispering into its ear, and then succumbs to death herself.

Of course, as a science fiction romance author I believe that the song is begging for someone to pick up the story and detail what happens next. Does she rise from the dead? Does he arrive and bring her back with a kiss? Do they meet again, years later, in another life? The beauty of art is that it’s all up to your imagination.

you wanted a soldier, but it wasn’t me
because i could never set you free
so fly on your own
it’s time i let you go

Written by Herr Jager
Sung by Theory of a Deadman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thfpVOAC-y0