You need to hear me out, and they said "speak now."

A while ago, I blogged about some of my sources of inspiration... at least when it comes to my writing. To be completely honest, it's been some time since I sat down to work on this supposed novel I've been trying to write. I found myself needing a new source of motivation, something fresh to spur the flow of words. Maybe since finishing the Harry Potter books, I've felt sort of down on my own feelings about typing out dialogue and description. Because no one will ever be J.K. Rowling, it was a bit of a depressing moment to complete the series and then watch her Oprah interview (note - my fellow HP fan friends warned me about post-Harry depression). While I find no one in the word as captivating and encouraging as Rowling, I just wasn't able to find my own words.

Until now.

I have repeatedly complained about Taylor Swift's inability to sing well live and her awkward performing skills. But when it comes down to it, I am a HUGE fan. For my generation (and a few younger), there have been very few songwriters that can connect as well with an audience. Her ability to speak to an audience and receive such a positive response is impressive. Her bubbly personality and open honesty are contagious.

I watched the days on my calendar... waiting and waiting for October 25th to arrive. The release of Taylor's album "Speak Now."

I was already completely stuck on the album's first single "Mine," but I refused to listen to any other tracks supposedly detailing relationships with Taylor Lautner, John Mayer, and Joe Jonas. I wanted and needed to hear the album in its entirety. Multiple times. Currently I am on my sixth time through. I am a song repeater, and I will do it until I learn the words.



More importantly, I was waiting for this album because there is something about listening to Taylor that makes me want to write. It's almost like an uncontrollable itch. I can be lying in bed, flipping through a magazine with her music playing in the background, and instantly I need to open my word document. Though none of her songs have hit me quite like her first single, "Tim McGraw," this particular album includes a candid letter to listeners.

The Prologue, as Taylor titled it, expresses the importance to say what you have to say - without fear of humiliation or regret. You could be speaking to yourself in the mirror, confessing to a crush in a big crowd, or simply typing on the keyboard into a story the world will read. While reading this letter, I'm sure I felt like so many of the 15 year-old girls that ran out to Target or Best Buy yesterday just to purchase a copy of "Speak Now." Being someone that wants to write, it was nearly impossible to read the short note and not think she was speaking to me.

And, yesterday, when I finished my first play through the whole album, I added a few pages to the story I'm working on.



I realize this probably sounds entirely corny to anyone reading it. And the fact that I find a lanky 20 year-old girl an inspiration might seem silly. But, think about it, she has so much that so many would die for, and she has the chance to stand up and open her heart and her mouth, letting the world hear her story. And she's entirely luckier than a lot of us.

So don't be surprised when I dedicate my first novel to her. Yes, I'm one of millions that listens to her non-stop, but I might just be the ONE that publishes a novel completely and entirely motivated by one of her singles.

"There's the silence. There's my last chance."

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