I is for IMPROVISATION
Welcome to Day 9 of the Third Annual A to Z Challenge!
My theme – my 26 fiction posts will revolve around something musical – it could be anything, as long as it's musically-related… maybe a song title, an artist/band, musical terminology, musical instruments, words relating to sound/rhythm/movement/dance etc.
MUSICAL ASSOCIATION/CONNECTION. IMPROVISATION – the composition of music while simultaneously singing or playing an instrument; the art of improvisation can be understood as composing music "on the fly"…
HoneyBunny was concerned. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.
“Now why the glum face? Had lemons for breakfast?” Inner Critic couldn’t resist the jibe.
“You are so NOT the person I wanted to run into.” HoneyBunny tried to avoid him.
“Hey— hello to you too… and now? What’s up? You’ve been in such high spirits for the last few days – a positive ball of energy, encouraging and supportive, full of smiles… and all that jazz…”
HoneyBunny issued a glare of warning that would have rendered anybody else speechless.
However, Inner Critic was not just ANYBODY ELSE… he was designed to counteract the threatening comments and glares… hell, he was immune to it!
“Uh oh – it must have something to do with the A to Z… I JUST KNEW IT! I mean, how on earth can any person in their right frame of mind, possibly choose 26 musically-themed fiction posts… waaay too ambitious!” His wagging finger was accompanied by the oh-so-familiar look in his eyes.
HoneyBunny pressed her hands to her ears and stuck out her tongue. “Keep your opinions to yourself.”
“Will you guys just keep it down please? There are 17 more days to go and I have a lot of work to still do…” a grumpy-looking Writing Muse chipped in, flustered… and distracted by the commotion. “Mmm… let me see… stuck for ideas… it’s best to improvise at this point… as you do when you’re not sure of the vocal arrangement and just ad lib the song you are singing? Or when a guitarist "jams" a solo? Goes with his gut instinct? Know what I mean?”
“You mean, as in “fly by the pants of my seat”… or “wing it”… and all those terrifying phrases that the bloggers throw around?” To say that HoneyBunny was freaked out by the suggestion would be a major understatement! She was practically hyperventilating—–
“I would advise against it! It could turn out to be a disaster… and then what?” This was a typical Inner Critic comment… true to form. “It’s your fault, anyway…” he turned to Writing Muse, determined to draw out the negative atmosphere, “if you did less loafing and more work, then we wouldn’t be in this predicament, would we? It probably suits YOUR agenda, to improvise at this point…”
But for once, his muttering fell on deaf ears.
The problem had been solved…
* * * * * * * * *
GENRE: FICTION
Very clever. Love the graphic. Love improvization, too. Bring on the jazz musicians. Oh, and people improvise all day long in their regular lives as well.
<a href=http://maryaalgaard.blogspot.com>Play off the Page</a>
Bring on the jazz musicians… bring them on! I love my jazz!
Yes, the concept of improvisation, in it's broadest sense, affects every person at some stage of their lives.
Improvisation -something we use in the theatre all the time. And I love any form of it & love your story today. Ah, that naughty Inner Critic! Mine is the worst!
<a href=http://www.playwrightchick.com>Texas Playwright Chick</a>
Improvisation taps into true creativity… that I believe! You've got to dig deep… unearth the untapped ideas. it's also a little daunting, too… 🙂
A clever little piece…
–Damyanti, Co-host A to Z Challenge April 2012
Twitter: @AprilA2Z
#atozchallenge
I've used improvisation in acting classes before, but never thought about what an important part it plays in music. Very creative concept!
I didn't know what to do for this letter… and… TA-DA… this is what I came up with!
Thanks so much!
OMG HoneyBunny, your Inner Critic just stressed me out! ((;
You're doing great with this theme and challange btw. This was a fun post and think, it could be worse, you could have bugs as a theme……o_O
Thanks Elise. Although I feel that some of the stuff is cheesy… you know when the Inner Critic takes over… 🙂
You are doing such a fantastic job on the challenge! Excellent graphic. Dang that inner critic!!! Egad! That drives me crazy. HoneyBunny, you rock!!!
Thanks for the positivity… HoneyBunny always manages to balance out the negativity of Inner Critic… a constant tug-of-war between the two… 🙂
clever improv! keep inking, ingsta!
Thanks TTT – just doing my best…
What a clever and intriging post. I never even considered how improvisation would factor into music. Of course, now I see how logical it is. Cool graphics. I am a new follower from the challenge.
Improvisation is a part of everyday life. We're not even aware of it, but we improvise at different levels quite often… e.g. switching to Plan B when Plan A doesn't work out… sound familiar? Thanks for the follow – nice to meet you!
I like the dialogue between the muse and the inner critic. They sound like mine. My Muse = Calliope. The inner critic is my dark side, I think.
Thanks for sharing your posts. Creative presentations are worth bonus points.
Thanks for stopping by my blog!
Thanks for your kind words… I truly appreciate them! We all have that Inner Critic lurking somewhere in the realms of sub-consciousness… just in different degrees of intensity…
It would make a nice IWSG post as well…insecure witer support group thing. Don't let him win and don't tell her loaf about. You are truly talented and wish I could spend more time here.
Try adding linky list and bloglovin for followers connect…
Thanks for your support and encouragement, Rek! 🙂 I look forward to your insightful comments on my posts… you always have something wonderful to contribute… 🙂
Yes, this would be a good post for IWSG… I will consider re-posting it later on…
Very clever, yes. Thanks for visiting my blog for "I". Surprise, I did "jazz" for J. 🙂
I love my jazz!! Will definitely pop in to check it out! 🙂
How wonderfully meta! My Inner Critic seems to spend a lot more time visiting than my Writing Muse. And I have to admit, since I procrastinated so much in March, I'm starting to get burned out writing posts every day. Whew!
I know the feeling… the A to Z is not for the faint-hearted! 🙂
This was a cute post. Anyway, sometimes our best work is done by the seat of our pants. I can remember my planned papers in college were never the best. It was the 30 minute essays I had to write for my finals that were. And my professor made it a point to tell me so in her sarcastic way.
For me, pantsing is a TERRIFYING notion! I think I'm obssessed with structure and organisation…
Ha! Inner Critic ALWAYS has something to say. This is a doubly-creative post…both because it fit in with your theme and because it was clever fiction!
Thanks Stephanie! Definitely what I'd call a "two-for-the-price-of-one deal"… or double-whammy!
Hey there, Improvision is a great word and another great post. You just perfectly described what has been going through my mind daily, as I try to come up with yet another A to Z post for the challenge. Can't wait to see what you come up with next.
-Debbie
Thanks for the visits, Debbie! 🙂 You also come up with some wonderfully, creative stuff!
Love the story. Have you been easdropping on my brain??? I really hate that inner critic. He has put a stop to so many good ideas.
Pamela Jo
*chuckles* The inner critic has probably put a spanner in the works of many a potential winning story… I'm sure we all have a horrific Inner Critic anecdote to relate. 🙂
I love improvising. I'm a musician, so that's right up my alley!
Ah, so glad to meet another musician! 🙂