Using Music In and To Inspire Your Writing: A Discussion With Indie Author Barbara Quinn

Last week we listened to Marie introduce readers to the indie read The Summer Springsteen’s Songs Saved Me. If you missed that episode, or just want to refresh your memory head back to episode 31. For our discussion we wanted to delve into the depths of using music as inspiration for writing. Also, we wanted to take a look a using music as a healing tool as Sophia from the story used Bruce Springsteen’s music.

Barbara Quinn was kind enough to send us her thoughts. Here’s a list of the topic questions:

1. In the from the author segment from your novel’s Amazon page you say, “This book is a tribute to the healing power of music and in particular to the songs of Springsteen…” what other artists or art form do you turn to for inspiration and to help guide you through life’s difficult moments?

2. What do you think it is about music, writing, or art in general that helps people to heal? Do you think it unlocks something within them or simply takes them away from the world and into their ‘self’ for a while?

3. There have been amazing reviews for The Summer Springsteen’s Songs Saved Me - congratulations on over 50 with all 4+ stars by the way! – one thing that many people pointed out was that this was their first introduction to you with one reviewer saying, “This is definitely not my normal genre.” Do you think that the fact that most people can relate to the effects of music helped get people to that crucial step of reading the blurb?

4. One of your reviewers mentioned that she continually went to YouTube to listen to Springsteen songs because her knowledge of ‘The Boss’ (my little addition) was limited, but it helped her get a better feeling for Sofia’s feelings. Did you want the songs to help with understanding your character, or was this a bonus effect?

5. If you could go back and tell yourself anything about the field of writing what would it be? 

Barbara Quinn’s discussion episode will help with your writing, inspire your reading, and maybe even teach you some things about music and life that you did not know. The Summer Springsteen’s Songs Saved Me is available on Amazon. Remember to leave a review for the story and all of the stories you read when you’re finished! Reviews are such an important part of any artist’s journey and lead to learning and better content. In fact, podcasts love reviews too! Marie and I would be so appreciative if you’d leave a comment and review on apple podcasts or wherever you found us! Subscribe to the show to keep up with the stories!

Links to the sites featured in this week’s episode can be found below. This episode was brought to you by Shirts by Sarah! With school starting soon why not send your children back with an original ‘T’. Believe it or not, my best friend, Jeremiah and I actually met because of the shirt I was wearing one day! True Story! Indie Beginning is an ACNBooks production. All research, writing, editing was done by Benjamin Franke. Remember - read more books, be the best possible you, and simply enjoy this wonderful life. Thanks for listening!

https://sanmiguelwritersconference.org/music-authors-listen-write-2/

https://www.bookish.com/articles/music-and-literature-books-that-inspired-classic-rock/

https://blog.mindvalley.com/sound-healing/

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=313