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| Exhibit A |
But Selena has a new song out called Who Says? I loved it the first time I heard it, and immediately downloaded it for the iPod. Then I listened on repeat.
There's some great lyrics in the verses, but it's the chorus that really gets me --right--here--
Who says?
Who says you're not perfect?
Who says you're not worth it?
Who says you're the only one that's hurting?
Trust me,
That's the price of beauty.
Who says you're not pretty?
Who says you're not beautiful?
Who says?
I always think of the chorus as speaking to my manuscript and the time it takes to get it ready for anyone to read. Who says it's not worth it? Who says I'm the only one bleeding through my eyeballs to get the words on the page in the right place?
That's the price of beauty (in writing). And who says my books aren't pretty (in the end)?
So yeah. I think drafting and revising is really hard work. Sometimes it feels like too much work. That it's not worth it. But it is. Keep at it.
And then the bridge (I really have no idea if this is, in actuality, the bridge, but you know):
Who says you're not star potential?
Who says you're not presidential?
Who says you can't be in movies?
Listen to me, listen to me.
Who says you don't pass the test?
Who says you can't be the best?
Who said?
Who said?
Would you tell me who said that?
During this part, the song moves from talking about my MS to talking about ME. I think sometimes we tell ourselves that we're not star potential. That we don't pass the test. That we can't be in movies.
I think it's easy to read a rejection as "You're not good enough. You can't be in movies." It's easy to see someone else's success as "I'm not star potential." We take a critique as "You don't pass the test."
But who says all that?
We do. (Usually.)
We've got to stop that, and keep working hard. And that's why Who Says? by Selena Gomez has been played about 476 times in my iTunes.
What song really hits you hard? Motivates you? Makes you cry and then determine to work that much harder?
38 comments:
Those are great lyrics - I'm going to have to check out the song too. I love when you find a song that really speaks to you - awesome :)
aww!!! Talk about cry--my little girls have been running around singing that song all week, and I didn't know who it was by. I really like it--thanks, Elana~ :o) <3
Those are some awesome lines!
I've been listening to "King of Anything" by Sara Bareilles pretty much nonstop for the last few weeks. Best sassy song ever!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR7-AUmiNcA
Maybe it shows that I'm still a teenager at heart, but I really loved her new movie Monte Carlo and I love that song.
I'm a huge Wizards fan too. Thankfully I have little ones running around the house that I can use as an excuse for watching children's shows. I adored that song when it first came out. I think everyone is able to relate to the lyrics at some point in their life. Great post! I loved getting to know how it related to you and your writing.
Can you hear me laughing? Funny!
I get it, the lyrics speaking to you and your manu. I love songs.
I was totally singing along with you as I read this. This song is a great piece of inspiration for today's youth, but it also applies to us old(er) people. Children's entertainment is full of encouragement for adults! My favorite is still Blues Clue's: "You can be anything that you wanna be!" Love it!
Of course I had to look up the song and I love it! Totally need this inspiration today :)
Cool! Lately I've totally been a fan of Skin by Sixx:A.M. Makes me smile :)
Sarah Allen
(my creative writing blog)
I agree - it's a really sweet and inspiring song. :) Catchy too! *sings along to lyrics*
My 10-year-old loves that show (and Victorious and iCarly and, unfortunately, Big Time Rush) and Selena seems like she's got a head on her shoulders - hope she's able to keep it that way! Thanks for the lyrics, I hear the songs, but I don't pay close enough attention!
erica
I hadn't heard that song, but I'm off to listen to it now.
We are definitely our own worse critic and we need to quell those voices in our head that say you can't do it.
When I had my flower shop I listened to two songs, cranked up, before I opened my doors every morning.
1. I WANT IT ALL--Queen
and
2. BIG--Peter Gabriel
Nothing could stop me from having a great day. I guess I should start doing that before I open my wip too!
Thanks for the post!
Taylor Swift's "Little Taste of Heaven" from her second album epitomizes one scene from my book and there are parts that absolutely sum up the relationship between my MC and one love interest. Every time I hear the song I think "This book needs to get published so that someone out there knows what this song means to me." Because it's hard when people haven't read that story and you hear that song and it's so beautiful and it makes me ache to have that story in front of readers.
Well, it's a bit cheesy, but "Homerun," by Geoff Moore & the Distance always makes me cry...and work harder :)
Great lyrics to Selena's song, though. I've been seeing the title everywhere, yet it's still making me think of Demi Lovato's "La La Land." You know - "Who says/I can't wear my/Converse/with my dress...?" :)
Love this.
My kids love Selena Gomez, and I like that she's putting a positive message (even for us adults) out there.
Lot's of songs inspire me. I've actually started writing short stories based off of song inspiration. It's pretty fun.
Wow. Great post.
I use music a lot to inspire me. With my soon-to-be released debut novel I used Skillet songs to keep me motivated. They match the book pretty well, too--two songs anyway: Monster and Awake and Alive. I get goosebumps when the songs play during certain parts of the book.
Music is super powerful. I do a playlist for all my writing projects. :) And yes. I do the repeat on iTunes OFTEN (much to my hubby's dismay)
Yep, my inner critic is my worst enemy. He sows the seeds of doubt then fertilizes them, and his criticism is never constructive. Thanks for a positive reminder!
This may sound weird...but Eminem, One Shot.
The chorus is awesome and inspirational. The rest of it is his struggle and if there was ever anyone who came up from nothing, who only had dreams to keep them going, failed, and got back up again, then it's him.
The sheer drive to never quit is a beautiful thing to behold.
Love this post. :0)
For me...The All American Rejects: Move along. This song really became popular the week I lost my first baby. I was half way through the pregnancy, and had to spend the night in the hospital the night after the procedure. Mtv and vh1 used to play videos all night.. well that song came on just about every half hour. I dont know if I would have made it through the night without it.. I was at my all time low, but that song would play and it kept me calm. Kept me grounded.
Now whenever anything bad in my life happens, I think back to that night, and that song, and if I can make it through that, then I can make it through everything.
I just move along..
Great song! I don't think I've heard it yet. When it comes to songs, I get lots of inspiration from them. Probably hymns hit me the hardest, though.
I love that song! I hadn't thought about it in those terms! Thanks for bringing it to that light!
The Climb by Miley Cyrus is the song I listen to for encouragement in writing.
Simple Plan and Muse are my biggest hits. That sounds like a great song. I'll have to check it out! I appreciated the lyrics as it's easy to feel like a writing loser.
@April That was moving, thank you for sharing. Just wanted to acknowledge your loss and your braveness in sharing.
I also love Muse and recently found Brit band Pendulum who morphed from drum & bass (electronic) to a fusion of that and rock. Coincidentally, they have a song that lyrically fits so well to what I'm writing. I would keep it on a loop while I'm writing if I wasn't afraid I'd get sick of it!
I LOVE that song too! I was driving in the car and really listened to the lyrics and it started to choke me up.
I also really like Katy Perry's "Firework". It's not as moving but still kind of inspirational. :-)
Ah, great way to apply that song to writing! SO TRUE! I was actually just listening to that song in the car & it really is awesome! Gets to me every time. :)
How funny . . . I just watched her in Ramona and Beezus today.
I haven't heard the song yet, I'll have to go check it out.
And you are worth it, girl! :)
I listen to the Orianthi song, "According to You." I imagine the rejection is the negative side of the coin, and my future shiny agent is the one who will think my work is beautiful. Now off to download me some Selena.
Great lyrics. I sometimes watch Waverly with my daughter.
And yes, I tell myself some of those negative things sometimes. I know I need to stop.
Thanks for the inspiring song lyrics.
When I had my meltdown in mid-June, Firework by Katy Perry resonated with me.
Wonderful post. Music is the best, isn't it? And I'd say, during one of the most frustrating times of my life, Weightless by All Time Low really resonated with me. "Well, maybe it's not my weekend, but it's gonna be my year."
And Get Back Up by tobyMac - "Feels like you've been running all your life, but why, oh why? So you run away from the love that would've been there, and start believing that your situation's unfair. But there's always scars when you fall that far. We lose our way, we get back up again. So get up, get up, you gonna shine again. It's never to late to get back up again. You may be knocked down, but not out forever." <3
Ah, good song! You're so much more tapped in to current music than me.
My current theme song is "Defying Gravity" from Wicked. It keeps me going, even when the person pulling me down is me.
Sounds like an awesome song. I'm gonna have to go listen to it now.
I Love Selena. Did you hear about her starring in 13 Reasons Why?
I like Pump It by Black Eyed Peas. Gets the juices flowin'.:)
Wonderful! Fantastic!
I'm a huge Wizards fan too!
yea, you already know how miserable I am to myself - especially when writing or querying or launching or or or!
:D
Wow! You've heard that over 400 times! Yowza! I like Selena Gomez too. I think she is such a talented actress and singer. And a great role model for girls.
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