Inspiration

Back in the late winter/early spring of 2004 I went to my first Josh Ritter show. It was a joint venture with Nellie McKay and it was at my absolute favorite venue for live music in PDX, the Aladdin Theater. The show was quite a ways off from being sold out, the seats half empty or half full, depending on your perspective. Hello Starling had recently been released and I had listened to a few samples at work and purchased the cd in anticipation of the concert.

I had no idea what I was in for. It was one of those wonderful concert attending moments when the actual experience blows away any expectations you may have had. When he played "Harrisburg"  for the first time, I got goosebumps. Literally and figuratively. I was mesmerized by this musician. I was in awe of his smile, the way he genuinely seemed to enjoy what he was doing, the music. I felt joy and inspiration rise up within me. All I wanted to do was go home and write.

A good concert always does this to me, fills me with a surge of inspiration. It's probably why I prefer to listen to music when I write. Writing is at once a very lonely profession and one filled with companions. When I am full on into a story, when my characters are alive and telling me their tales, I feel far from alone.

Sometimes I'll use the music to guide my emotions. If I have an incredibly emotional scene that I'm working on, I know how to pull myself into that mood by choosing the right album. The same is true if I'm working on something happy, silly, or romantic.

I have seen Josh Ritter perform more times than I can keep track of and have had the pleasure of meeting such a truly kind human being on several of those occasions.  I buy every new album sound unheard and purchased his recent novel the day it was released. I adore and admire the way he plays with words, the way he captures stories, the way he smiles. It's artists like him that keep me feeling both motivated and inspired to keep on trying, to find that joy in what I do.