Blog

July 2025

The Writing Mood

Music has always been a key part of my life, especially when I write. I've heard that writers retreat to quiet, isolated spaces to work without interruptions. Not me. Over the years, my taste in music has shifted from U2, the Beatles, Nirvana, and Alice in Chains to Mozart, Brahms, Prokofiev, and Bruckner. As time races away, I’ve reflected on my younger years and found myself drawn to the great outdoors and different tastes in music.

I’ve always been what some have called outdoorsy. And that is true: from mountain climbing, swimming in the ocean, golfing, hunting and fishing. Now, I maintain a hunting lease on a couple of thousand acres of land off the Caprock in Graza County, Texas. It is a great escape, especially at sunset. My wife and I enjoy sitting on the tailgate of our truck, sipping a cold drink, and not saying a word. The sounds of the vast open spaces are more than enough to soothe us into a peaceful, relaxing, and creative mood. And those are the best times for me to be inspired: let the storylines flow.

It's a taste of heaven. The breeze slipping through the mesquite branches; the Dove calling the covey together for the night; the Bobwhites chattering and scooting through the grass, and always the lonesome coyote call—first a single bark in the distance, then a response from a different direction, followed by a cacophony of coyote calls and wails in all directions. We are not alone, and the sounds of nature send goosebumps down my spine.

But music? Yes, the sounds of nature light my fire. Later, as I sit in my office, I turn to musical tastes that coincide with my outdoorsy self. Of course, Western Music—Bob Wills and Woody Guthrie, on to Waylon, Willie, and the Boys. But there is nothing like Wyman Meinzer and Doug Smith. They are the best. Take a peek. You won’t regret it. Go to the internet for Wyman Meizner’s West Texas.

 

You might even want to write a story as you listen.

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