Swoon Worthy Inspiration

So, you’ve checked out the submission’s page and you’re wondering to yourself, “What the hell is Whitney talking about when she says she wants things to be “Swoon Worthy””?

I understand this term might seem vague, but here are some examples that I hope will help you.

The main point of trying to achieve that “swoon-y” feeling is to capture those moments that make your heart race, that make you cheer for the underdog. The moment when the characters are about to kiss. That moment when the lovers who have been separated by time and space are reunited. Your pulse kicks up, and you feel like they are you and you are them and you die a little inside if the moment doesn’t happen. That is “Swoon Worthy”, and what I hope to capture here.

Below are some examples of things I find swoon-y. I’m not endorsing or getting any money from these suggestions, so purchase/ watch/ read as you wish.


51QywOtKDUL._SX314_BO1,204,203,200_ Text from Amazon.com: American readers were introduced to the award-winning Sudanese author Leila Aboulela with Minaret, a delicate tale of a privileged young African Muslim woman adjusting to her new life as a maid in London. Now, for the first time in North America, we step back to her extraordinarily assured debut about a widowed Muslim mother living in Aberdeen who falls in love with a Scottish secular academic. Sammar is a Sudanese widow working as an Arabic translator at a Scottish university. Since the sudden death of her husband, her young son has gone to live with family in Khartoum, leaving Sammar alone in cold, gray Aberdeen, grieving and isolated. But when she begins to translate for Rae, a Scottish Islamic scholar, the two develop a deep friendship that awakens in Sammar all the longing for life she has repressed. As Rae and Sammar fall in love, she knows they will have to address his lack of faith in all that Sammar holds sacred. An exquisitely crafted meditation on love, both human and divine, The Translator is ultimately the story of one woman’s courage to stay true to her beliefs, herself, and her newfound love. Check it out here.


Neil Hilborn’s “Static Electricity”

Neil Hilborn’s “OCD”



Mandy Patinkin singing this song (or any song really).



Kathleen Edwards. An amazing singer/ songwriter who writes contemplative love songs that pull at your heart strings. Check her out if you don’t know her. Two of my fave songs:

Sure as Shit and Soft Place to Land

Sarah Harmer

When I play the guitar and sing, this is the lady whose songs I return to time and again. Sarah Harmer’s albums are great. Give a listen to One Match and Coffee Stain


The Spinners

The Spinners Could it be I’m Falling in Love

Judy Garland

Here to break your heart. Judy Garland with What’ll I Do and  The Man That Got Away



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