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Selecting the Right Song for the Right Time

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As a musician or music leader, choosing music is an exciting and daunting task. You know you can’t please everyone, but that’s no reason not to try your best. The right song or song grouping can be the linchpin that holds a meeting together and makes a good gathering great, but selecting something inappropriate can have the opposite effect. 

So, what factors should you consider? They might vary depending on your situation, but here are a few. 

Doctrine, Doctrine, Doctrine 

When determining whether a song is appropriate for a church meeting, you should always consider the question, “Is this song completely doctrinally correct?” Songs from official Church publications, such as the hymnbook or Church magazines, have already been vetted for doctrinal soundness. Doctrine is taught frequently by prophets and leaders and is confirmed by the united voice of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency. It is not hidden in obscure corners or given by a solitary voice. 

This means that when you bring in an original work or a hymn from another Christian tradition, you must be careful. Some deviations are small, some more major, but any deviation from the truth can drive out the Spirit. When you read or listen to the lyrics of a song, pay close attention to how it makes you feel. If there’s something off, it might be the Spirit’s prompting. 

For example, there is a lovely Christian hymn called “Holy, Holy, Holy” that is widely used in other churches. While the song is mostly doctrinally sound, its refrain highlights the doctrine of the Trinity, that God is one being Who manifests as three different people. The lyrics say, “God in three persons, blessed Trinity.” Without some adaptation, this would not be appropriate for a church meeting. When the Tabernacle Choir performs this song, they use the alternate version, “God in Thy glory through eternity.” 

Consider a popular “feel-good” song like “This Little Light of Mine.” It has a general message about being a good example, but it could just as easily be sung in a secular setting. If being a good example is your topic, consider other hymns, such as “Come, Follow Me” or “The Lord Is My Light.” These focus on the example of the Savior and would be more appropriate for a church meeting. 

Find the Focus 

When choosing a song for a church setting, ask yourself, “Will this song put the focus on the Savior?” Music that is too showy or that draws too much attention to the technical aspects of the song can detract from the message of the meeting. Perform with genuine emotion without doing anything to draw extra attention to yourself.

The Savior saw beauty in simple things. In Matthew 6:28-29, He says, “And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” King Solomon had riches and a mighty empire. He built opulent palaces and buildings and wore the finest clothing. The Savior says, however, that the simple lily possesses a simple, humble beauty that surpasses all the pomp of King Solomon. It would be good to remember this principle in the music we perform as well. 

Inviting the Spirit 

When truth is spoken or sung, the Holy Ghost can be present to testify of that truth. When selecting music, ask yourself if the song is presenting doctrinal truths that the Spirit can confirm. Songs should not only be selected to elicit strong emotions, but should also strive to underscore the message of the rest of the meeting. Work closely with local leaders to coordinate your efforts and invite the Holy Ghost to participate in the selection process. If you are set apart with a musical calling, you have access to the keys you need to accomplish your work. This means that you are entitled to revelation about the musical decisions you make. Do not discount the power of the spiritual gifts you are given in the scope of your calling, even if you have never held this calling before. 

Clear, Competent Writing 

Not every song text needs to be a Shakespearean masterpiece, but there are certain aspects of the craft that should be present so the writing does not detract from the message. For example, hymn texts have a set meter, which is a pattern of the number of syllables per line. A hymn with an 8 6 8 6 meter will have eight syllables in the first line, six syllables in the second line, and so on. Many hymn texts will also follow a rhyme scheme, which means that the last words in certain lines will rhyme with each other according to a pattern. Selecting texts that have employed sound poetic principles can help the message shine through and be more memorable for the listener. 

The Right Song at the Right Time

A song you choose one time for a church meeting might not be the best choice in another time and place. Seek the gift of discernment to know what message the Lord wants His children to hear and how that message should be presented. Study the options and the guidelines out in your mind as the scriptures direct, and then choose with confidence, knowing that the Lord will magnify your efforts as you strive to serve Him through music.

Michael D. Young

Though Michael grew up traveling the world with his military father, he now lives in Utah with his wife, Jen, and their three children. He played for several years with the handbell choir Bells on Temple Square and is now a member of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. He is the author of the novels in The Canticle Kingdom Series, The Last Archangel Series, the Chess Quest Series, and the Penultimate Dawn Cycle (The Hunger), as well as several non-fiction works, including An Advent Carols Countdown, The Song of the Righteous and As Saints We Sing.  Visit his website to learn more.

    Art Can Make You a Better Writer

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    I am a visual learner. Images help me remember and understand things more thoroughly. Art has helped me become a better writer as well. Here are four ways to harness the creative power of art in your writing.

    Turn to Art for Mental Respite

    Art can inspire creativity by activating the part of your brain that is responsible for contemplation and daydreaming. Your brain isn’t designed to stay in work mode constantly. Giving your mind a break from structured assignments allows it to relax—it’s like a brain vacation. When my kids were small, they once sent me to my room for a time-out. It made for the best day ever! Sometimes your brain just needs a break.

    Reflect on Art to Inspire Your Writing

    Slow down and take time to analyze artwork or an interesting photo. Give yourself a moment to ponder about the details and reflect on your impressions. Doing this can lead to new ideas and give you insights that will spark your writing.

    A painting called Pirates by Ned Young, an artist from Brigham City, Utah, hangs on our living room wall. It depicts two young boys standing atop a haystack next to a barn. One boy holds a sword and wears an eye patch, while the other boy looks through a telescope. Beside them, a skull-and-crossbones flag waves on a pole. When I look at that painting, it takes me to a place in my childhood. I can smell the hay. I can feel the summer heat. It makes me wonder if cats live in the barn. Are the boys looking for a place to hide treasure, or are they escaping from hungry cannibals? I get all these impressions from a watercolor painted in Utah.

    Art isn’t just displayed in galleries—it’s all around us. You can find artistry in the way leaves overlap and create interesting compositions. Cloud formations are one of my favorite works of art. Look closely at a spider web or ripple patterns in the water. Find music in the sounds around you. Our Father in Heaven is the ultimate artist.

    If you make art appreciation part of your life, your observation skills will grow. Your ability to write accurate descriptions will improve as you increase your awareness of the world around you.

    Cultivate Empathy through Art

    Elevating your awareness of the creativity around you can increase empathy toward others. As you pay more attention to the subjects in art and how they are portrayed, you may notice details that evoke an emotional response. For example, The Child’s Bath by Mary Cassat holds a special place in my heart because it depicts a woman bathing a toddler, and it elicits feelings of comfort, love, and contentment.

    The Child’s Bath by Mary Cassat

    On the flip side, The Scream by Edvard Munch also reminds me of motherhood, particularly when my kids haven’t picked up their Legos, and I step on one.  

    The Scream by Edvard Munch

    Find Story Ideas in Art

    When you ask questions about what you’re seeing and why the artist portrayed the image in the way they did, it can kickstart your creativity. You can explore even further by inserting yourself into the picture and asking questions from a new perspective. What made the artist choose this subject? If you were the person in the painting, why are you in that setting? What is your story? Engage your senses as you ask these questions. What might you taste, smell, or hear in this situation? Use your enhanced focus to sharpen the way you write your descriptions.

    Take the opportunity for an art break, whether it’s enjoying a painting, a sculpture, or the intrinsic beauty of nature. Art will stimulate your mind, boost your creativity, and help you become a better writer.

    A headshot of Cathy Witbeck

    Cathy Witbeck

    Cathy Witbeck is a Canadian-born author-illustrator transplanted to the USA. She remembers writing and drawing ever since she could pick up a pencil. She did an especially lovely piece of artwork on the side of the septic tank with house paint at a very young age. Perhaps that’s when it was discovered that she was gifted, or maybe it’s why she was sent to the USA.
    She has five grown kids and one grown husband. When she isn’t writing and illustrating, she is chasing after grandkids intent on making their own artwork.

      Four Steps to a Page-Turner

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      Forget the old adages you’ve heard. In a real race between a tortoise and a hare, the hare would win every time. It’s biology. And what applies to biology applies to writing as well: no one wants to write at tortoise speed or produce a book that would make a tortoise yawn—especially when all the hares out there are rushing to compete for today’s readers (and their short attention spans). Here are a few steps to transfigure your fictional tortoise into a hare.

      Step 1. Offer your tortoise a carrot. Every character needs a reason to press forward with increased purpose. Without a goal, we flounder then wallow in the comfortable couch of laziness. Long-term goals are vital to a plot, but short-term goals are the steps to get there. Without them, your story will lag and your audience will drift off to sleep. If you want a title to study, Robison Wells offers lots of carrots in his book Variant. First, he establishes an environment that makes his character uncomfortable. Because the character is not the type to ignore an itch, he feels compelled to set short-term goals along the way—to find out more about what makes his environment tick. The more he discovers, the more unsettled he becomes.

      Step 2. Remove distractions. If you’re going to offer your tortoise a carrot, you’d better make sure he doesn’t already have lettuce to nosh on. There are times when distractions are appropriate and interesting, but if your story is dragging and you need to speed things up, your character needs to focus. Remember the importance of short-term goals: write less thought and more action. If your character is focused on beating that rival, delivering that package, or sending that life-changing letter, the inherent conflict is more immediate and important, and your character has to fight harder to accomplish his goal. Without pesky thoughts to distract him, your character is free to follow his gut, which inevitably leads to mistakes, loss, and increased tension—all things that speed up your prose and force your reader to pay attention. In Divergent, Tris’s survival frequently depends on her ability to focus on the task at hand.

      Step 3. Turn your tortoise on its back. It may be difficult to watch him struggle with his legs flailing in the air, but this struggle springs from his primal desire to survive, and it ultimately strengthens him. The writhing tortoise is in danger and may lose everything. This vulnerability is something with which every reader empathizes. Empathy ties your reader to your character’s fate, making every kick of every limb more important. If your readers cheer for your character, they won’t want to walk away in the middle of the race. In most contemporary novels, the inciting incident that puts your character’s physical, emotional, social, or spiritual world in danger usually happens in the first chapter of the book. The resulting vulnerability and struggle carry the reader to the novel’s end. Any time your character discovers the reality he has long believed is riddled with lies or half-truths or realizes the depth of his personal flaws or challenges, your character has essentially been turned on his back and is forced to set his life—or his understanding of it—aright.

      Step 4. Use magic words. Active verbs and descriptive nouns illustrate everything your reader needs to witness without wasting time or crowding the page with heavy blocks of text. Experienced authors not only know which words to include, but which words to cut. Remove the words that slow your prose to a clunky, awkward creature carrying its house on its back. Twist passive phrases into active voice. Precision wordsmithing sculpts a lithe, muscular machine built for speed. One of the best wordsmiths I’ve ever read is Jerry Spinelli. He magically tells an emotional, intricate story with a few precise words. Maniac Magee is still one of my favorite novels, and it is practically poetry—every word in this book counts.

      Do This Now

      • If you haven’t read Jack M. Bickham’s Scene and Structure, read it, mark it up, and memorize as much as your brain can hold. Bickham’s amazing explanation of the importance of goals and how to create believable conflict will change the way you approach fiction writing and will give a nice backbone to your creative content.
      • Read through your manuscript and break it down into goals. Do this either through highlighting or by writing a few words in the margin describing each goal. If you go a page or two without making any marks, odds are you’ve hit a lull in your story.
      • Play the what-if game. This little game is one of my favorite plot/character developing techniques, and it’s a game that Orson Scott Card recommends in his book Characters and Viewpoint.  Let your imagination run wild, asking what-if questions that put your character in different situations, have him come from different backgrounds, or challenge him with different types of conflict. Follow through on these questions and imagine where the changes would lead your character. This process has revealed some fantastic plot twists for many authors.

      What techniques have you developed to keep your novel moving?

      A headshot of Amy Maida Wadsworth.

      Amy Maida Wadsworth

      Amy Maida Wadsworth published three novels with Covenant Communications, which are available for Kindle and Nook. Amy started teaching fiction writing in 2006 and has been a writing coach ever since. She works as a freelance editor and blogger for Eschler Editing and is pursuing her master’s in human development and social policy. This article appears courtesy of Eschler Editing.

        How “Save the Cat” Can Save Your Story—Part Two

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        In Part One of our article series, we introduced “Save the Cat” (STC) Acts as a guide to help you understand the purpose of each part of your story. Each act is broken down into “beats”—essential story parts. It’s entirely up to you how detailed you plan out each beat prior to writing, making STC completely customizable. As a rebel myself, I thoroughly enjoy things I can make entirely my own—and I suspect many of you feel the same too.

        The Transformation Machine

        Consider your hero’s transformation before outlining, and especially before you write. Knowing the hero’s wound (flaw or problem), their want (what they think will solve their problem or make them feel better), and their need (what you as the creator of their story know they truly need) will inform how your hero behaves at each beat. The Transformation Machine is about creating resonance between your reader and your hero by making the hero relatable. The more your readers can see themselves in the hero’s problem or flaw, the more readers will want to read about them.

        Enough chatting. Let’s get plotting!

        Thesis—or the World as It Currently Is

        Where we show our readers who the main character is, what’s lacking in the character’s life, and create that resonant bond between the reader and the hero.

        You need to establish a resonant connection to deliver on your story’s promises. The first three beats of Act 1—Opening Image, Theme, and Setup—are particularly      designed to do just that.

        Beat 1: Opening Image

        Beat 1 is a snapshot of the hero’s current life. You’ve heard the advice to start with action. A conflict reveals what’s wrong in their life, which captures the reader’s attention and builds resonant bonds. However, avoid so much action that the hero’s plight is lost beneath the action.

        Pro Tip: Imagine the ending and make your beginning the mirror opposite. If it ends with a happily ever after, then start the story with a breakup or with a character who can’t get a date.

        Plantser Tip: If you know the beginning and ending, you can happily draft knowing you’re heading in the right direction.

        Beat 2: Theme

        Beat 2 is “scheduled” for the 5% mark in a novel, but it’s very flexible. I like it during the first 10% of a book because it sets the tone for the character arc, but you can place it wherever makes sense to you—even at the beginning of Act 2. Later than that, however, and it loses its power.

        Imagine this beat as a conversation with your mom in which she says something wise and meaningful, but you brush it off because “she doesn’t understand.” The thing about moms, though, is that they usually do understand. You can substitute any kind of mentor/authority figure here. Deliver this advice or warning any way you see fit—a prayer, a song, a poem, an old wives’ tale. However it’s delivered, the hero needs to reject it, creating that resistance humans are so familiar with. By the end of the book, they’ll embrace the theme and grow—and perhaps inspire some positive change in your reader as well.

        Pro Tip: The theme is directly related to your character’s need. Knowing this need will help you craft the best rewards and punishments for your hero.

        Beat 3: Setup

        Beat 3 encapsulates up to 10% of the novel. Its purpose is to introduce the hero, the world, and hint at what’s wrong with the hero’s life. It reveals how the hero behaves at home, at work, and at play, which increases your opportunities to create resonance with your readers.

        Pro Tip: Don’t get hung up on “at home, at work, at play.” What’s important is to show how the hero’s problem affects their family relationships, their success at work (or school), and their friendships.

        Failing to establish these early beats is like trying to change a light bulb while standing on a cardboard box. You’re more likely to crash through the box than brighten your room.    

        -Ali Cross

        Examples of the Beats    

        In the opening scenes of The Hunger Games, Katniss struggles to do all the things under the worst circumstances. Poverty, oppression, and hopelessness are familiar conditions everyone fears. No wonder the book was so universally loved.

        In The Lion King, young Simba wants his father to teach him how to be a leader and a warrior, but his father never has time—another relatable problem. None of us have ever been lion cubs, but we’ve all experienced the sting of an absent or distracted parent.

        As we move into Beat 4, Catalyst, and Beat 5, Debate, we’ll be grateful we put hard work into those first three beats. I promise it’ll be worth it, whether you’re a Plotter or Pantser or something in between.

        See you next time as we explore “Fireballs, House Fires, and Other Disasters That Move You”—otherwise known as Catalyst, Debate, and Break into Act 2.

            

        A headshot of Ali Cross.

        Ali Cross

        Ali Cross is a USA Today bestselling author, motivational speaker, and story development coach who loves to help writers level up both professionally and personally. A happiness enthusiast and believer in hope and magic, Ali’s a sucker for underdogs, redemption stories, and happily-ever-afters. She explores the concept of joy and where it can be found in her YouTube show and podcast, Write4Joy. She lives in Utah with her hacker husband where they collaborate on stories, artificial intelligence, and their plan for virtual world domination.
        Find Ali at her website or @thealicross online.

          Creating Your Music Brand

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          You’ve heard the term “branding” thrown around, but let’s talk about what branding really means, how to find yours, and why it is the essential first step to building a sustainable career in the music industry (or any creative industry, really).

          “Branding is what people say about you when you’re not in the room,” states Stephen Linn of AmpliFLY Entertainment. Linn also explains that you can’t control it, but only influence it. Your brand secures your identity and makes you unique in a very crowded space.

          Steps to Creating Your Brand

          1. List 3 to 4 words that describe your personality. Using these words, create (or hire someone to create) your:
          • Logo
          • Photos
          • Clothing style
          • Fonts
          • Wardrobe including jewelry, makeup, clothes, shoes, etc. (on and off stage, yes they can and should be different)

          2. Write down your Mission Statement and Elevator Pitch. Music changes the world one song, one artist at a time. Write down your goal for giving back to the world. Whenever you have options, doubts, or decisions to make, referring back to this mission statement can keep you aligned with your brand and will even strengthen your brand identity.

          Your elevator pitch is a thirty-second summary of who you are and what your music is like, as well as who it will appeal to. You should have this concise and clever summary not only figured out, but memorized. Avoid statements like “unlike anything you’ve heard before” or “the best music you’ve ever heard.” I once heard someone’s music described as “It sounds as if Keith Urban and Taylor Swift had a baby and that child was raised in San Diego.” You can envision what that would sound like, right? Be clever!

          3. Define your vision. What do you see when you envision success? Will you be performing to a stadium full of fans? Will you be living comfortably as a songwriter? Will you be creating 24/7 in your own massive studio space? What does success look like to you? Spell it out in detail.

          4. Make a list of all your favorite products, hobbies, restaurants, social spots, etc. Brand extensions and/or partnerships can become part of your brand identity. Not only this, but brand partnerships can become a source of income for you as well as a way to extend your reach. If you have a hobby of skateboarding or yoga or kickboxing or knitting or have a love of Hallmark movies, include this in your list. You will be able to connect with people with similar interests who may not have otherwise come across you and your music. This approach can also prop you up into the visual space of the brands you use and love.

          5. Write your story. The contents of your story can later be shaped into an artist bio for your website, press kit, and other sites. What parts of your story make you special and unique? Why do you feel called to be a public figure? What was the defining moment in your childhood when something spoke to your soul and clearly stated that music is what you are destined to do with your life?

          6. Make a Brand Binder. This is for you and your team and not for fans or the public. It should include:

          • Personality traits you narrowed down in the above exercise
          • Phrases, thoughts, statements, and quotes that you find inspiring and represent who you are and what matters to you
          • Mission Statement and Elevator Pitch
          • Vision
          • Brand Elements – Colors, fonts, pictures, Logo (variations, colors), Look and feel (mood/aesthetic) using pictures, off-stage wardrobe using pictures

          Remember, you are not obligated to share every detail of your true personality with the world, only those parts you want them to see. Even if you are enhancing some qualities or hiding others, you are in control of what influences your brand. If you don’t want people to know that you personally have an obsession with collecting mini tea sets, then pull all photos of that down from your social media and pray that doesn’t get out. Or, you could embrace it and make that part of what you share. It’s up to you.

          I like the idea of having a physical binder for this, but you could also use something like Pinterest or Trello to organize it.

          Using Your Brand

          Honestly, I think creating and using your brand is really fun. Who doesn’t like talking about all the things they love? Use your binder to guide every decision you make about what photos are best, what album cover looks best, what you should post on social media, etc. Be patient. Building brand awareness is a marathon and not a sprint. Stay on brand. Create consistently. Contribute always.

          A headshot of Becky Willard

          Becky Willard

          Becky Willard’s music career spans nearly three decades working in nearly every corner of the music industry. Her passion is in finding and working with the most determined artists who are ready to take control of their artistic career.

          She’s coached, mentored, and developed a number of artists who’ve been featured on The Voice, American Idol, America’s Got Talent, The X-Factor, and more. You can learn about her here.

            Healthy Habits for Creatives

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            I was once asked to write a Book of Mormon pageant for girls’ camp with less than a week’s notice. That gave me roughly three days to study and two days to write. Picture me, hunkered down at my early 90s-era computer, giving my all for the kingdom. Pressure writing brings out the best in me, but I couldn’t have accomplished this feat without power-eating an entire school of Swedish Fish and slugging down a six-pack of diet Pepsi.

            Fish is healthy, they say, but by the time I pushed print, I had more red dye swimming in me than was used on the set of Psycho. But there was no time for nutritional prudence—the sugar and caffeine provided the temporary scaffolding my word construction stood upon! If only they loaded Swedish Fish with a few omegas, lecithin, and a little protein.

            I admit to repeating this process on more than one deadline. However, I have learned a lot about “crutch foods,” why we lean on them, and which nutrients are helpful during these magnificent bursts of creative genius.

            Now I shall confess that I am a nutritional consultant and an author, which is some type of oxymoron—no healthy person would write books. To be serious, though, I know why people load up on junk, and I also know a better way. Writing presents a lot of physical inactivity while mentally running marathons and pumping literary iron. Buff brain ripples are a poor substitute for saggy abs. Instead of leaning on sugar and caffeine for mental acuity, try any of these healthier ideas.    

            Sugar vs. Protein

            If you are craving sugar, feed yourself protein. Protein will sustain your creative sprints much better. Easy food sources include cheeses of all sorts, hard-boiled eggs, yogurt, jerky, and protein shakes. Nuts and seeds are an excellent choice if you are a “muncher.” Protein will support you with the energy you require without nudging you one step closer to diabetes.    

            Vitamins and Herbs

            B vitamins stoke the nervous system with fuel. They are found in unrefined, unenriched grains, which disqualifies almost everything in a store-bought bag or box. Snack foods that are high in B vitamins include avocados, banana chips, dried plums, unsweetened coconut flakes, oat clusters, baked sweet potato fries, broccoli, kale chips, fresh garden peas—the list of wholesome choices goes on! If veggie snacking is your thing, try dipping veggies in hummus or guacamole. Peanut butter is also a fantastic source of B vitamins, as are most nuts.

            Foods rich in C vitamins are excellent for focus and re-energizing. Not only do they taste great, but they also provide important natural sugars and increase immune function. C vitamin-rich foods also clean the digestive tract. Fruits concentrated with natural blue and red pigments, such as blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries, also aid in liver and gallbladder function by thinning bile, a process that prevents high blood fats and diabetes.

            In addition to choosing healthier foods, I recommend herbs and supplements such as ashwagandha and ginseng, vitamin B12, inositol, choline, and omega-3. Each of these things promotes better circulation, increased energy production, and sharp cognitive function. Don’t miss these synergistic essentials.    

            Essential Oils

            Essential oils are currently all the rage, and I do find them helpful. Whenever I’ve stared at the screen too long and I feel a headache coming on, I like dabbing peppermint on my forehead, and sometimes on my upper lip if I’m feeling drowsy because of eye fatigue. You can also dab a bit on the stinging muscles across your neck and shoulders. I like diffusing citrus oils, like lemon, lime, orange, or grapefruit because citrus oils are energizing. Lime is my personal favorite, so I dab it on my wrists and neck pulse points.

            High-frequency oils include frankincense, cedar, pine, and rose. These are beneficial in writing spiritual or inspirational topics and would have been a perfect companion for me to use while cranking out that pageant so long ago. High-frequency oils elevate thought and fine-tune focus.

            Frankincense is perhaps the most beneficial oil of all. The Wise Men gifted it to Baby Jesus for a reason. Frankincense is a tremendous anti-inflammatory agent, so it’s good for a sore back, twinging sciatic pain, a stiff neck, wrist pain, and hand pain. Imagine dabbing a little oil on sore knuckles or thumb joints and having it simultaneously fix the big knot at the top of your neck! Yes, oils can be so very beneficial to your head and brain, and it only takes fifteen seconds for quality oils to absorb through your skin. Sometimes the gentlest medicine packs the biggest punch.

            Breathing Exercises

            A great deal of a writer’s time is spent revising and editing. Here is a breathing exercise that is helpful to the lymphatic system. I call it the Exercise of Three. It doesn’t even require that much concentration to edit words and breathe at the same time, so most folks are good to start this exercise right away. First, inhale to the count of three seconds. Then, hold that breath for the count of six seconds, and finally exhale to the count of nine seconds.

            Our lymphatic systems are like sump pumps in the body. Sump pumps need to be primed, and my Exercise of Three acts as the primer. I recommend doing the exercise in sets of three at least three times per day. The lymphatic system must rid the body of unwanted sludge. Give it a fighting chance.

            Water

            Speaking of sludge, don’t forget to drink water! How much is enough? Take your body weight in pounds, mentally cut that number in half, and that’s how many ounces of water a person should drink in a day. Occasionally I have clients who whine about the fact that they hate water. They ask if they can drink Gatorade or Crystal Light instead. My question to them is always the same: “Would you scrub your tub with Gatorade?” It doesn’t matter what beverage is the favorite or the preferred. The human body still needs water, and all the more desperately if caffeinated or sugary beverages are consumed regularly.

            Take Breaks

            Stand up every twenty minutes and march in place for one minute, or march out to the kitchen for a drink of water and a nutrient-rich snack. Move your arms and legs to get blood pumping and good oxygen circulating everywhere. Before resuming your professional writer’s stance, stretch. Stretching is so beneficial to health in many ways.

            Become self-aware! These baby steps of healthier habits actually create a giant leap of progress, and that makes a brighter, more inspired writer. Just as sentences, paragraphs, and chapters are written one word, one sentence, and one paragraph at a time, your best self is created one healthy choice at a time.

            A headshot of June Marie Saxton.

            June Marie Saxton

            June Marie Saxton is a nutritional consultant and owner of Bear Necessities of Montpelier, a nutritional clinic and bookstore in Montpelier, Idaho. She enjoys all aspects of health and positive living. She and her husband, Mike, also own Saxton Ranch, celebrating the continuing legacy of rural living, the lifeblood of the west.

            Her time is best spent in support of her family and their many activities. In her not-so-spare time, she enjoys writing. Her titles include Dancing with the Moon, Beckon, Into the Second Springtime, Pirate Moon, Emerald Fire, Ball Baby, Veil of Azure Sequins, Mach 16, Diamonds of the Quarter, Improper Son, Tolliver, Haley at the Hop, Perfectly Pepper, The Doctor of Devonshire, Rose of Ravenswood, Saylor, and Roxy. You can learn more about her at her website.

              Nine Ways to Prep for a Vocal Recording Session

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              A great vocal performance on a record does not happen by accident. Many factors contribute to making a recording session successful. After thirty years of coaching singers and fifteen years of recording them, I’ve gathered some tips that should help your next recording session go smoothly, giving you the result you are looking for—a killer record!

              Before Scheduling the Session

              Memorize the song

              It’s true that you can hold lyrics in front of you while recording and no one would know, but after all these years of working with singers and being a professional vocalist myself, I know something magical can happen once you cross over from the “on-book” to “off-book” phase. You can focus more on the emotion, the subtle use of air and vibrato, scoops, straight tone, falls, attacks and releases, articulation, riffs, runs, and so much more. If you have the time, get off-book so the song is really inside you.

              Practice

              Maybe this should be an obvious one, but I’ve definitely had vocal sessions where the singer was still figuring things out—timing, phrasing, notes, etc. If you have the time, putting in the same effort as if you were going to be performing the song live without lyrics in front of you will elevate your performance dramatically.

              Verify key and tempo

              Before putting in the time to rehearse the song, make sure that you are singing in a good, healthy key for your voice and a tempo that feels right. If you are using a karaoke/instrumental track, then obviously you are tied to the key and tempo of the track. While a karaoke track can be altered, the quality of the track will diminish ever so slightly the farther away from the original recording you go. If you are creating your own instrumental with a producer, take the time to find the right key and tempo before the producer starts working on it, if possible.

              That being said, it’s really easy to change the key and tempo of programmed instruments before anything is recorded.  Don’t just sing through it once and call it good. Sing through it a few times in a row to make sure your voice doesn’t tire after a few run-throughs. Double-check that you aren’t rushing or dragging as you sing along, which could be a sign that the tempo isn’t quite right or that you need to work on your timing.

              If you are rehearsing the song and feel like the tempo or key needs to change, let the producer know right away so they have enough time to make a new track and you have enough time to rehearse with it before the session. 

              Record yourself and listen critically

              The benefits of listening to yourself are enormous. Simulate the actual recording session at home, even if you are just recording into your phone using an app. Going through the process of actually recording should highlight spots that need a bit more work or help you plan your session better. Do you need to record the low, soft verses first before the big, belty choruses? Or vice versa? Do you struggle with phlegm because you ate a cheese sandwich an hour before? Did you notice the overall emotional delivery falls a little flat and could use more thought? Invite a music buddy to listen back and provide feedback on this “scratch track” version.

              Work with a coach

              Even if it’s just one session with a coach prior to the recording session, this is a much safer, efficient, and cost-effective way to record a song. Getting feedback after the recording session can be very discouraging. Forking out more money to re-record vocals was most likely not figured into your budget. Be sure to include funds in your budget for at least one coaching session prior and if possible, during the session. It can relieve so much pressure to have a team member with you who is listening only to your vocal delivery, who knows your voice and your goal for the song. It’s totally worth the extra dough to have someone in your corner at the session.

              Day Before/Day of the Session

              Be well rested

              Get a good night’s sleep the night before your session. Make sure it’s not scheduled for ten a.m. the day after a late-night gig or at the end of a long work day. Be as rested as you can.

              Hydrate

              Do your best to stay hydrated in the hours before the session in addition to drinking water during the session. Bring plenty of water with you.  

              Warm or room temperature will keep your vocal folds and all other tissues involved in singing nice and pliable.

              Be mentally “right”

              Arrange your schedule so you’re not running late or in a hurry to finish. Take some time before the session to unwind, meditate, calm down—whatever you need to do to get your mind focused and clear.

              Know your body and your voice

              There are hundreds of lists out there of what foods and beverages to avoid. For the majority of people, these lists are pretty accurate, but there are exceptions. Be sure to know your body and your voice and how they might react to certain foods, either positively or negatively. Keep a journal that connects what you eat, when you eat, and when you sing with how your voice feels. You will start to see correlations between certain foods and how your voice performs. 

              I hope this has given you some tips that will help you rock your next record!

              A headshot of Becky Willard

              Becky Willard

              Becky Willard’s music career spans nearly three decades working in nearly every corner of the music industry. Her passion is in finding and working with the most determined artists who are ready to take control of their artistic career.

              She’s coached, mentored, and developed a number of artists who’ve been featured on The Voice, American Idol, America’s Got Talent, The X-Factor, and more. You can learn about her here.

                Tomorrow I Will Write a Book

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                I’m forming a club for people who feel like frauds when they call themselves writers. Prospective members are those who write on occasion, but don’t write often, haven’t finished anything in a while, and although they want to publish something, are working at such a slow pace that it looks like it’s never going to happen. This club would also be open to those interested in painting, drawing, sculpting, animating, etc. I know I’m not alone. Care to join me?

                Wait. I don’t want to be a part of this club. I want to write, but I’ve been saying that for so long. Am I supposed to give in and accept that I will never reach my goals?

                No. I refuse to give up, and you shouldn’t give up either. I’ve been trying to stop procrastinating for years. In this article, I will detail the steps I’ve taken to become a more productive writer.

                Step 1. Realize When You Are Making Hollow Excuses

                I don’t know about you, but my excuse for not writing was always, “I don’t have time.” My justification never changed because I never had time.

                Well, I had time to watch over seven seasons of The Walking Dead with my fiancé this year, and I don’t even like that show. Plus, I wrote and published three books while I was a pregnant stay-at-home mom with a toddler and later a newborn. I realized if I could be productive at that busy stage of my life, my excuse of “not having enough time” was really a way to rationalize my procrastination.

                How do we turn these bad habits around? We need to face reality and admit when we are choosing to procrastinate.

                Step 2. Confront Imposter Syndrome

                Maybe you tell yourself you’re not a “real” author because you’re self-published, you don’t have a critique group, or you stopped marketing the books you already have out. Or you’re not a “real” writer because you don’t write every day, go to writing conferences, or fraternize with other writers.

                Here’s a beautiful fact—having a desire to write makes you a writer.

                However, being a writer does not only mean you are someone who writes. To be a writer, you have to assume so many other roles. You must be a researcher, an observer, a comedian, a romanticist, an adventurer, and a storyteller. You read books, watch movies and shows, and listen to songs. You absorb other people’s stories in the media and the world and learn from them. Writing? Ha. That’s the easiest part of the process, where you get to sit and create stories on your own. Everything else you do as a writer, you are doing constantly. To be a writer is to see the world differently.

                And isn’t that part of why we write? To make sense of our observations?

                You don’t have to write a specific number of words a day or even write on a regular basis. Being a writer means you have the potential to change people’s lives with your words, even if you haven’t written them yet. Practice mindfulness. Talk to people. As you go through your day, notice the things you observe and what makes your perspective on the world unique. So, stop feeling like you aren’t a writer, an artist, or anything else. Accept that you already are.

                Step 3. Create Goals

                What exactly do you want out of your artistic career?

                There are so many subjects in different genres that I enjoy and want to write about. I have more story ideas than I may ever be able to write. I decided that if I was going to dedicate so much time to writing, I should make the most of that time and choose the path that would have the most positive impact on my career.

                Narrow down what you want to accomplish with your writing. Will you write books? Screenplays? Hire an illustrator and do web comics? Do you want your writing endeavors to be lucrative, or would you rather write for enjoyment?

                It’s easy to get caught up in thinking in terms of our materialistic world, but I find this mindset can severely limit my point of view and the options I’m willing to consider.

                Step 4. Pray for Help

                Pray about what to write. Pray for opportunities to write. Pray for alignment in your life, heart, and soul. Pray about what needs to change for you to be able to make your work a part of your life. Pray about how to use your gifts. Carefully consider what is going on and what needs to happen for you to be able to spend more time doing what you love.

                When we’re struggling with what path to take and everything we choose feels wrong, it’s important to remember to seek God’s counsel, and to give Him room to answer us. He knows how we can best use our talents to bless the lives of others, and He knows what’s best for us and all our needs, as well. For me, sometimes what feels right isn’t necessarily what I’d choose for myself. For example, when I got the prompting that I needed to publish a book as quickly as possible, the timing didn’t make sense. The book I wrote and published was not one that I would have thought to write at that time.

                I haven’t regretted changing my mind about something that felt wrong, and I’ve always been grateful for doing what feels right. I know I want to follow God’s path for me. As long as I feel like I have that going for me, I’m usually happy with where I am and what I’ve accomplished. And I know this path includes writing.

                Step 5. Take Responsibility for Time Management

                My last leg of this journey has come down to establishing priorities and being responsible with my time. I’ve had to get to know myself better to learn what practices help me feel the most accomplished.

                Discover what times of the day you’re most productive and get better at forming habits and routines. Self-discipline is not easy. I’d rather be editing my work than writing. But I’m telling you, navigating through this part is going to make all the hard work worth it.

                Step 6: Do the Hard Things

                Learn to accept and enjoy every leg of the journey. Learn to be true to yourself and validate yourself by celebrating your successes. Change takes time. Self-improvement requires healing. Sometimes other things need to take priority for a while, and that’s okay. That doesn’t make my desire to create any less valuable. Everyone loves the process of baking bread, but it takes time for wheat to grow. When you make your art a priority in every sense, you will find yourself able to stop procrastinating and become more productive.

                A headshot of Mariah Porter.

                Mariah K. Porter

                Mariah K. Porter is a member of the LDSPMA and the author of Tomorrow I Will Make a List: Managing the Depressive Habit of Procrastination. In addition to her nonfiction, she has also written That Prince Guy, This Glass Heart, and These Extraordinary Thorns, which are fairy tale retellings. You can learn more about her here.