A massive on-going blog post featuring all of my monthly Spotify playlists that I started creating back in 2017 featuring a variety of genres.
Category: Music (Album and Show Reviews, Playlists)
January 2020 Update: Workshop, Writing, and Music
Today is my first day in a Free Poetry Workshop! Last September I bought Windows and Doors: A Poet Read Literary Theory by Natasha Sajé. I read a few chapters and then looked up Natasha Sajé, I found out she is a professor at Westminster right here in Salt Lake City. Then I found out she was doing a free Poetry Workshop this Spring. To sum it up, I applied to the workshop and got in. Today is the start of this four-month workshop and I am so excited. I am hoping to get a lot out of this workshop and make progress with my poetry.
Besides my poetry, I have been doing my daily writing routine, a mere 1,000 words a day required. I feel like I’ve been hitting a wall lately when it comes to my writing. On the backburner is My First Novel which I talked about regularly in my posts last year. At this point, I have only one tiny chapter to write and the book is done. After that I need to have it fully edited/proofed and then I want to start submitting it to Literary Agents for representation. I have very little left to do, maybe a couple rewrites here and there and some more polishing but I have put my book on the back burner since November and haven’t had the guts to break it open again.
(More about My First Novel)
Instead, I’ve been working on my music. I’ve been researching and learning Ableton (DAW), I’ve been practicing guitar, recording, and learning the ins and outs of my midi keyboard. I’ve also lately become interested in Modular Synthesizers, so I’ve been taking a course on the basics through lynda.com and messing around with a Cherry Audio Virtual Mod Synth I got with the purchase of Computer Music magazine (what a cool find!). It’s been a fun and time-consuming venture. Currently, I have about five songs in the works. A few of these songs will finish the playlist I started on my SoundCloud, taking inspiration from Dante’s circles of hell.
That’s it for this update! I want to say THANK YOU to all my followers and those that read my poems regularly, I deeply appreciate your interest and readership.
-Alina
Liked this post? Check out these:
NATIONAL POETRY MONTH!(Opens in a new browser tab)
Why I Write: Poetry #1(Opens in a new browser tab)
Currently Reading: Postmodernism, 1920s, and Fiction(Opens in a new browser tab)
Latest Release “Fraud” Now on SoundCloud
Back in May, I got my hands dirty and started making music. I played around with a free trial of Ableton, bought a MIDI keyboard, and a microphone. I messed around and had fun mixing samples together. I also got an audio interface so I can hook up my guitar and record stuff (I have yet to do this but I am planning on doing it asap).
So far I have posted four original tracks on Soundcloud, amateur artist right here. This is all for fun so I can get my feet wet and experiment. If you have any free time I would love to know your comments and thoughts!
Influences/Inspirations: Sneaker Pimps, Cocteau Twins, Nine Inch Nails, Grimes, and FKA Twigs just to name a few
LATEST TRACK “FRAUD” (Released December 2019)
Thank you to all my followers!
-Alina
Liked this post? Check out these:
January 2020 Update: Workshop, Writing, and Music(Opens in a new browser tab)
NaNoWriMo 2019 & MCR is BACK!
Although I am still working on editing the final draft I have of MY FIRST NOVEL, I have decided to participate in this year’s National Novel Writing Month.
The intended goal is to write a 50,000 worded novel over the course of the month of November. Each day your writing goal is around 1,600 words in order to accomplish this. So far I have about 3,700 words written and I need around 1,700 written today to keep up.
I love to write Horror, scary stories, fiction in general with disturbing twists and turns that dabble with the strange, unusual, and surreal. For this NaNoWriMo I have decided to try my hand at realistic fiction. Keeping it in the ‘real’ world the best I can. So, of course, the book I’m working on right now is a Mystery/Crime/Thriller. Let’s see if I can pull it off.
What I’m listening to:
Pinterest Board/Inspiration:
Thank you for following me! And coming along on this new and exciting journey!
-Alina
Find Alina on INSTAGRAM
p.s. MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE is BACK TOGETHER! I could not be more happy or shocked. I’m still trying to process this information so bear with me…
Liked this post? Check out these:
Currently Reading: Patti Smith, Hunter S. Thompson and Chuck Palahniuk(Opens in a new browser tab)
Reflection/Response: Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice(Opens in a new browser tab)
My Summer: Madness, Music and Monsters
Summer is my time for working and then working some more. It’s madness when I look back at my week and think about how crazy my schedule has been and how much I work. Work is nothing, it’s what I do outside of work that I really care about: editing my book, rewriting chapters, and putting together crummy monthly playlists on Spotify. But now thanks to my partner, I’ve been experimenting with my music again.
For the past couple of months, I’ve been messing with Ableton. When I finished with the trial period I got the basic Live Intro package, how much am I really going to use it for the $$$ is the question. I bought a small 25-key midi keyboard, an audio interface to hook up my guitar and record (still need to do this) and a microphone set. So far I’ve just been messing around and mixing samples, editing, I guess producing? Is that what they call it? I have no idea. I’m just a guitarist really that’s all I know so this is an attempt at me diving headfirst into the deep unknown world of DAW’s and music production.
What I have so far (that’s done) you can listen to ALINA HAPPY HANSEN SOUNDCLOUD
I’ll probably put in a playlist player on the homepage of my blog as well. These songs are really just experimental mixes. I’m mainly just practicing editing and song structure but it’s still fun.
What I’m listening to right now,
What I’m reading,
Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within
I’m rereading this classic, it’s been a few years but it is a fantastic read and I’d recommend it any writer at any level. The chapters are short and concise and totally inspirational. I can’t help but want to write after reading a chapter or two of this book.
MONSTERS
I read half this book in only a couple weeks then ignored it for a couple more. Reading this book is more entertainment than anything else right now and it’s inspiring me to write a gorey vampire short story right now (the vampires in here are too romanticized and the story set up and style echoes the infamous Twilight– the only difference I can find is that this is a vampire romance for people 30+). I’m sick of romantic vampires, I want sadistic serial killers, I want an ugly vampire – a Nosferatu set in modern times.
That pretty much sums up the last few weeks for me. I will be posting an update on “Writing My First Novel” series soon plus of course, my regular poetry posts.
Thank you to all my followers and Thank YOU for taking the time to read this post!
-Alina
Find ALINA ON INSTAGRAM