How Cameron Crowe Helped Me Find Myself Again

When I was first introduced to the power of Cameron Crowe, he already had one story turned into a movie. That of course would be "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." When that movie came out however I wasn't old enough to see it and I wasn't in high school anyway. No my first love was his directorial debut "Say Anything." I fell in love with this movie and I fell in love with the music. I thought to myself this man understands how teenagers think and feel.

The next movie I had to see by him was of course "Singles" which opened the door for me to that fabulous Seattle sound and Grunge craze. I could relate to the way the characters thought and felt because I was their age. I was married of course but I understood the need to find someone, to start making a name for yourself and of course the music. Generation X is all about the music. My thoughts turned to Cameron Crowe again and I thought to myself, 'this man is the coolest person ever.' After that of course came "Jerry Maguire" which is another one of my favorite movies. I thought to myself, 'this man knows the meaning of love and isn't afraid to show it in all it's imperfection and beauty.'

It wasn't until I saw "Almost Famous" however that I figured out what I was meant to do. Seeing his own biography basically coming to life in a beautiful film with the amazing Kate Hudson finally did it for me. I became curious about what real groupies were like and how they ticked. I started reading everything I could find about the music industry from the business side of it to the magical, musical side of it. I wanted to know how rock musicians looked at the world and what made all those girls become shameless and inspiring to them.

Now I would never try to be like Cameron Crowe and I couldn't anyway. This is a man who knows the music industry better than I could ever hope to know it. I will probably never work for Rolling Stone Magazine and will most likely never come close to even experiencing what life is like for the travelling musicians and their entourage. What I do understand is the power and beauty of music. I understand the yearning to be loved my many and to inspire people to greatness.

I've known since I was a young teenager that I wanted to write but had lost touch with that side of my personality over the previous 10 years before that enchanted and moving movie came to life. A lightbulb went off in my head and I thought to myself, 'Why not try writing a novel about the special people who make up the music industry? How do these musicians, their wives, groupies and business people really think and what is it about music that makes people come alive?' I had unanswered questions that I wanted answered, was fascinated with the idea of writing something that I hadn't seen before in a novel. That became my focus. That's what I aspire to have published. The inner workings of a creative mind are far different from the logical mind. Now, I'm just trying to understand it myself.