Song Writing and Music News

So I haven't blogged in a while...
That's because I have been busy writing. I've been working on my novel, which is taking a while, but that's okay. I've also been writing songs.
I love music, I always have. And I've been writing songs since I was thirteen. I play guitar- I don't play well, but I play- and people say I have a knack for expressing things in words.
Lately, I've been having a little bit of writers block. I can't figure out what to write about, so my guitar teacher said I should just write, wether good or bad, silly or serious, just write a little something everyday. So that's what I've been doing.
A few of the songs that come to mind are Rambling, Whatever This is, and Flowers in my Hair. Yeah they're kind of silly, but hey, not every song can be a hit. In fact Ryan Tedder, the lead singer of OneRepublic, said that after you've written 500 songs, you'll find a hit.
Now that may seem kind of discouraging, but to me, it's actually pretty helpful.
I'm a big perfectionist. I may have already mentioned that, but if not, I am. I want everything to be perfect the first time. So let's say I write a really bad song, that sounds horrible. Normally I'd throw it out. But, in line with what Ryan Tedder said, it'll take a few tries. And the messed up version of a song can be what leads to a hit. On the Deluxe edition of Taylor Swift's 1989, she includes the rough drafts of a few of her songs. I especially like the "Blank Space" voice memo, because it's a VERY rough version of the song- you almost can't recognize it.
I also like the way her and the others are having fun writing the song. That's how it should be. Yeah, it's going to be frustrating at times, but if it doesn't make you feel the least bit happy, it's not worth your time.
So I've written some pretty silly songs. But during one session in my room, I came across this perfect riff. I couldn't find a way to attach it, but it's pretty sick. Hopefully it'll lead to something great.

In other news, I found a few new bands you should check out:
Ra Ra Riot
Hey Marseilles
JR JR
Atlas Genius

Well that's it for now. I'll be posting a few DIYS next so stay tuned!

An Artist's Words

So I thought I'd share some more of my observations of the world.
I love being an observer of the world, and I love sharing my observations with others. So hopefully this'll be a recurring series of posts. Here are my latest observations.

When I think of life, I think that we have two options. One, live the same day over and over again, or two, dare to change the cycle, to break the rut, and to live spontaneously.
I'd like to think that most people are the latter, but that's not the case. We tend to get so caught up with the every day that we tend to forget what's important in life; the way we live it. It's important to breathe, and take one day at a time. It's important for each day to be unique and different. It's important to live your life spontaneously. It's important to live your dreams. And it's important to have a purpose in life.
I'd like to think I AM doing all of those things, but in reality, I'm not. But that's okay, because it's never too late to start.
I want to live a beautiful life. I want to live my life so passionately that I love the crazy journey of life. I want to live a life I love. I want my life to be filled with hopes and dreams, and I want those dreams to be lived out. I want to be an inspiration to others, that anything is possible. I want to be that girl that never gave up.
I want to live a beautiful life. So I figured now is a good time to start. I AM going to live my dreams, I AM going to work hard, and I Will dare to begin, to begin living a life I am proud of.

Prismacolor Tips And Tricks

So recently I got a prismacolor marker set.
And I love it. I had gotten the pencils a few years ago, and I use them to this day. With the addition of the markers, I believe I could be unstoppable. Just kidding, I'm not THAT good.
But I do love to draw. I thought I'd share with you a drawing I did that uses both the markers and the pencils, and I thought I'd share with you some of my tips for using them.
First, it's a good idea to know your materials before you dive head first using them. I practiced and scribbled with them for a while before actually drawing with them.
 It's also a good idea to know what you're going to draw, and the colors you'll need. For example, I draw a lot of people, so the portrait set seemed to be the best set for my needs.

Some other tips include:
*Don't press too hard on the markers and pencils. If you press too hard, they'll break, or you'll use all of your ink.
*It's always a good idea to outline what you're going to draw in pencil first. You can always erase it later.
*If you are using the markers, make sure you make your outline as light as you can. Once you trace over with the marker, you can't erase the pencil.
*When you go to sharpen the pencils, press lightly, the harder you press when sharpening, the more of a chance it'll break.
*The cool thing about prismacolors is the ability to layer and blend colors. Don't be afraid to experiment with it. It's one of my favorite parts of using them!

To the right is my print I made. I used the pencils for the vinyl part, and the markers for the lettering.
Here are the colors I used:
For the pencils-
True Blue, sunburst yellow, light umber, peacock blue, chartreuse, dark umber, cloud blue, and carmine
For the markers-
tuscan red and blush pink.

Hope you find the tips helpful!

What are your favorite art mediums to use?

Book Review- The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars... where do I begin?
I fell in love with this book. It's about cancer, and about a beautiful and tragic love. The main character, Hazel Grace, is one of the most relatable characters I have read about. And of course I fell in love with Augustus Waters.
There are sad parts, and funny parts, but mostly sad parts. But that's okay, because after all, life is not a wish granting factory.
Oh, and there's a blind guy in the book as well. His name is Isaac, and he is really cool.
So there's a brief summary of it. Let's get to the reviewing.
So there were a few things I didn't care for. There is some language in the book. And it is a pretty deep topic, so if you don't like deep, sad books, you might not like it.
But John Green did an excellent job at making me care about the characters. And I loved his use of details. To me, the little details about the story are what make the story so great.
I didn't care for a few of the side characters though, like Hazel's friend. I found her kind of annoying.
Overall though, this book is AMAZING. It is definitely a new favorite of mine, and I look forward to rereading it.

What are some of your favorite books right now? I'd love to hear them, especially since I need something new to read.

About The Changes...

Hola.
So I've noticed some things about my blog I want to improve, such as my photos, my wording in my posts, and the things I post about. So, in other words, I need to improve my blog's content.
So over the next few weeks I am going to be improving my blog. That means that there are going to be some changes taking place. This includes my past posts as well. You may notice that some posts aren't there anymore, or the post is overall different. It's okay, it's just an improvement.
And by the way, this does not mean that I'm changing EVERYTHING. I am simply still learning how to be a blogger. And that means that as I learn new things, the blog will naturally change.

I will still write about what I love.
I will still be goofy and awkward in my posts (well to an extent).
I will still be Paleo's Starving Artist.
But...
I am going to write about what I love. What I want to say.
I am going to be using more photos.
I am going to make sure they are good quality photos.
I am going to work on my grammar and spelling.

So don't be alarmed by the changes. Because change is a good thing. And I want this blog to be something I love.

DIY: How To Make A Mood Board

Mood boards are awesome.
For the longest time I had wanted one, because then I could organize my ideas easier.

But what exactly is a mood board?
Mood boards are pretty much a visual representation of current thoughts, ideas, dreams, and projects. As you can see, mine is filled with photographs from magazines. That's because I love drawing people, as well as the ideas and the concepts these photos give me. They also give me plenty of story ideas.

So how do you go about making a mood board?
It's pretty simple. I'll go over the steps with you.

1) Pick a theme. It could be anything- maybe a current project, and the inspiration for it, or maybe a dream or goal you are working towards, and the motivation and goals to get you there. My theme was, you guessed it, people. I also included things that make me happy.
2) Get your inspiration and supplies together. Now this step doesn't have to take place all at once. You can do it all at once, or you can slowly add to it. I did mine at once. I included magazine clippings, smash book pieces, and of course, my Taylor Swift polaroid.
3) Start arranging your materials. They can go on in any order you want.
Another thing, if you ever feel like you need to change it, or maybe your inspiration has changed, don't feel afraid to redo it!

So there you go! Hope you have fun creating your own mood board!

An Artist's Words

Hello.
It's been a little while since my last post. Well, I know I did some posts about Disney World, but to me those don't count as part of my regularly scheduled program. They were a special set of posts. So now we are back to our scheduled program!
I thought I'd share with you a piece I wrote recently, about being creative. It's almost a letter to myself, where I talk about being creative, and how that feels.
So here it is.

Here's the thing about creative minds: they never shut down. They are constantly going, taking in all of the world around them. They see the world in motion, observing from a distance. It constantly moves around them. Yet, sometime the world moves too fast for them.
They see everything as inspiration. From the beauty of a dandelion, to the most colorful sunset; from the lovely stars in the sky, to the tiniest firefly; the dewy grass after a rainstorm, to the beetle on the side of the road. The world is so beautiful, maybe even too beautiful.
Sometimes it's hard to take it all in. Maybe because it is too much information, or because of the wandering mind in general. For example, take the beautiful clouds in the sky. There are many things you could take away from that. You could think of all the shapes and images you see in the sky, which leads you to a happy memory that you start vividly replaying. Or you could think about the vastness of the clouds and how big the world is, which leads you to start mentally writing a poem or a song about it. Or you could think about what the clouds would look like if the sky was green, which leads you to mentally start creating a world where that is so.
When I say that this is too much, I do not mean that something is inherently wrong. I mean that the mind of a creative person works differently. I mean that the creative person's mind wanders aimlessly. They tend to dream out loud, letting reality fade into the background.
But is this really such a bad thing? Without these types of people we would have no artists, no writers, no musicians, and no dreamers in general.
So maybe it's okay to dream this way. Because the stories in our heads are much better than the reality we live in.

So that's my inspiration for the week. I wanted to share this, not because I needed to, but because I wanted to. I'm called Paleo's Starving ARTIST, so why shouldn't I share what being an artist is like? And this may seem like a personal note, but I wrote this in light of how most creative people tend to feel. I hope this helps someone who feels lost because they live in their own world. Because that's okay.