A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Becoming a Songwriter

Actually, several things have happened. Ffor one thing, I believe I've lost the bitterness reflected in my previous posts on this blog. These days, I'm just plain grateful. For another thing,I was given a complimentary membership in NSAI, and I continue to be a member, studying the craft of songwriting. As you can imagine, this felt like a great vote of confidence. What's more, I've co-written a song with a professional songwriter, and we're in the process of making a demo. Who knows? Maybe I'm supposed to be a songwriter, after all. Doors keep opening. I just won an electric Peavey guitar from a pre-eminent store, Nashville Used Music. Other things have happened, too, including the release by ArcheBooks Publishing of my second novel, A Wild Dream of Love. A Wild Dream of Love is the sequel to my first published novel, A Chance to Say Yes. A Wild Dream of Love is now available from your favorite booksellers, including Amazon.com. To order your copy, visit www.tinyurl.com/AWDOLamazon or wwww.tinyurl.com/ACTSYamazon or any other bookseller of your choice. The ISBN for A Wild Dream of Love is 978159072351. If you prefer to use an e-reader, you will find both books on Kindle. It's a good idea to read A Chance to Say Yes before reading A Wild Dream of Love, but it's not necessary. A Wild Dream of Love is more about music, so if you're reading this blog, you'll probably prefer A Wild Dream of Love to A Chance to Say Yes, anyway. Then, again, who knows? Thanks very much for you interest in my writing.I hope you enjoy A Chance to Say Yes and the sequel, A Wild Dream of Love. My best to you, Tina Murray

Wake up and smell the senior coffee

Friend, if you've ever been into a burger joint and ordered a cup of coffee and they ring up a senior coffee without asking you, you know who you are. The good news is, who gives a flip? The whole point of this project, My Past Perfected, is to "Do It Anyway," as Martina McBride sang in her heartfelt rendition of that inspirational song. (Note to self: Find out the name of that songwriter.)

My quest is to pursue songwriting, a dream of my youth, as an oldster, and to see what happens. I will be documenting my journey on this blog. First things first. I must locate a suitable (new) guitar and some type of keyboard. True, I dread buildking the calluses(sp)on my sensitive fingertips. That has always been one of my stumbling blocks on the road to musical proficiency. Nevertheless, I'll give it another go. Also, I'd like to have a keyboard of some type. Those piano lessons are going to pay off, at last.

As we go along, I'll give more of my musical history. Too, I want to make the connection here with my upcoming novel A Wild Dream of Love. One of my characters writes songs. So, yes, there is a tie-in with my new novel, and I'll be writing more about that in future posts.

In the meantime, I'll keep reading my copies of American Songwriter magazine, www.americansongwriter.com, and dreaming about that move to Nashville. If you have pursued your youthful dreams as an adult,I would love to hear from you. I'm eager to hear from those of you who have heeded the call of your hearts--or are thinking about doing so. So, how's it working out for ya?

Oh, yeah, I need to camera, too. Gotta have pix to document my trip.

Singing the dream..

Tina

You Start at the Beginning

So, you're how old? And you want to do what? You've got to be kidding!

That is what I expect to hear from some--okay, lots of--folks when I tell them about my new ambition: to become a songwriter. Actually, it's not a new ambition. It's an old ambition resurfacing in my life. Technically speaking, I am too old to pursue a career as a songwriter. However, I am not too old to do it anyway! In my teens and early 20's I wanted to write songs. I dabbled. I was a dilletante. I had so much to learn about life that it wasn't even funny (it's still not funny).

But I did learn one thing along the way. I learned how to pursue and achieve a goal through practice, trial-and-error, and perseverance. I now have college degrees. I have a published novel, A Chance to Say Yes, and I'm writing the second book, A Wild Dream of Love, in my celebrity romance trilogy (which is actually social commentary, but don't tell anyone). Yeah, so I've learned how to set goals and reach them, something I did not know how to do in youth.

I'm going to be sharing my experiences in my "Back-to-the Future" pursuit of an adolescent dream. I would be quite interested to hear from those of you who have gone back and resurrected a dream from your youth and pursued it--for good or ill.

Everyone has heard the urban myths on the subject. Sometimes it works out well for the courageous post-youth dreamer. Colonel Sanders started his business after retirement age with an old family recipe. Ex-Presdent Bush went sky-diving after leaving office. Sometimes it doesn't work out. Zelda Fitgerald took ballet lessons as an adult. Of course, it may have been worth it to her, for reasons of her own. She may have enjoyed it, even though things ended badly for her. I need to do more research before commenting on her situation.

That's all I want to do. I want to enjoy the pursuit of the dream. I'm not out for glory. I just want to share some songs and participate in the scene. Basically, I figure it can work out or not, It can go either way, but it can't go any way unless I have to courage to find out. If my goal is enjoyment, what the big deal?

I have a lot to learn, so this will be a true adventure. More to come...

Tina