When creating a story, you get involved with your characters and their lives and in a way you give birth to them and they are your children.  Just like all the important people in your 'real life' you see things everyday that makes you think of them or an occasion. 

More and more people are recommending songs that they were listening to whilst writing and drew inspiration from or that they have heard and think are suitable for their story - soundtracks to novels.  In fact, I have just read the first two books of The Weather Warden series and Rachel Vincent recommends songs for her readers to listen to.

Personally, I have had simialr experiences.  Just recently, I finished my final edit of 'Drift', sent my first query to an agent whilst listening to 'Starry Eyed' by Ellie Goulding.  I hope my story gets published so you can see how this song communicates Murray and Fern's relationship so perfectly - it's like it was written for the pool scene!

I am currently reading Rachel Vincent's book "Pride". I can't help but be impressed at what an amazing writer she is. I love how she describes things, such as:

'I am so persuasive I can talk the colour off a crayon."

"Dread settled in my stomach like sour milk."

I am not sure if I have these quotes dead on as I don't have the book in front of me (amazingly) but I am sure you have got the point. Is there a name for this style of writing? It makes reading her books so much more interesting as the way she describes things draws up images in my mind that help me relate easilyt o what the character is feeling.

I think it was in "Rogue" where there is a scene I loved, where she described the chess pieces falling over. I can't say too much as I don't want to spoil the story for people who haven't yet read it but what she did was similar to the sort of thing a director of photography might do in a film. The small details of what was happening around the character were just as important to the main story as the plot.  She used the fallen chess piece in a way to compliment the actual events taking place in the story. The chess board breaking had nothing to do with the story but the images it brought up were symbolic - it was genius.

I wish I could write like this! I feel I have plenty of great ideas for more stories but so do many other writers. If I want my work to stand out and be something special then I have to find a way to incorporate something unique within my writing style because describing a scene well or making a character realistic just isn't enough! I need to give my writing some va-va-voom.

To write at the level of Rachel Vincent will be no easy feat but I know I am improving everyday. I can now see my mistakes and I have a better idea of what I need to do next to improve. With time I am confident I will get published. That is my ultimate goal, my dream, my destiny. If I didn't have bills to pay I would live and breath writing as it is the oxygen that fuels my existence.