No, not the song you wish would start playing when you walk into a room. ...though that would be pretty cool. I'm talking about music for writing, songs played while working or before working, all that kind of thing.
I've developed this habit of finding a CD (yes, I still get my music in old-fashioned physical form) that suits the book I'm working on and listening to that every time I sit down to write said book. For THE ACCIDENTAL WARLOCK, it was U2's "No Line on the Horizon"; I don't really know how to explain it, but somehow, it fit. I also edited the entire thing to the double-CD 20th Anniversary edition of "The Joshua Tree", so now I know both those albums pretty much by heart.
All of TAW is from Shiloh's perspective, but if I ever get to write the sequel, some of it will be from Alexi's POV. I've realized that, when that time comes, I'll have to write Alexi's scenes while listening to U2's "Achtung Baby", as it's better-suited to her.
Also because Alexi does in fact move in mysterious ways.
While writing to music is nothing new, I've also gotten into the habit of finding a song to listen to before I start, sort of mentally preparing me to get back to work on the story. Finding this isn't always easy; feeling out how a book is going to be is difficult enough, so figuring out what song suits it before it's even written seems kind of ridiculous. But I found one for TAW: "My Eyes" from "Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog". The whole thing is this awesome duet of duality, and duality is a big issue in TAW, as the main character learns to deal with two very different kinds of power.
I'm still in the plotting process for two different novels, though I haven't yet given a lot of thought to what to listen to while writing them. I feel like it's the kind of thing I won't really know until it's time to start writing. Here's hoping I actually figure it out by then. O_o
So: am I the only one who does this? Do y'all work in total silence, have playlists or other music set at random, or do you just need a certain amount of background noise? I've heard some people say they prefer film soundtracks, and while I can say that the extended soundtrack to the first "Hobbit" movie has done me very well for plotting, I don't know if it'll do as well for writing. So what does everyone else out there listen to while writing?
I still buy CD's too, lol. Just got the Imagine Dragons CD for Christmas! I do LOVE music, but I need silence for writing. I did make my first playlist for my sequel on Spotify and it was super fun and easy :-)
ReplyDeleteI can't write without music, not unless I absolutely have to. And I've thought about making playlists, but I'd have to be able to play them in order. Something about the songs playing in the order I expect keeps me focused.
DeleteI heard of another author saying how she couldn't write without music. I'm one of those who needs complete silence while writing. I've found that certain songs do give me ideas, but I've yet to get to a place where I listen to music before writing.
ReplyDeleteThe music keeps me focused, as I said above - it keeps me from thinking about anything but writing. I even wear headphones, to really shut out everything else. ^_^
DeleteI can definitely relate -- music keeps me focused too -- but I have to go without lyrics. Instrumental post-rock is my writing fuel, bands like Explosions in the Sky, This Will Destroy You, Collapse Under the Empire, and even cellists like Zoe Keating. Big fan of U2, by the way.
ReplyDeleteA weird thing I learned recently is that instrumental stuff is best for me when I'm plotting - I've done a ton of great planning lately to the extended soundtrack for the first 'Hobbit' movie and the group Two Steps From Hell. No idea why it works that way. ^_^ And yeah, U2 is pretty much always good.
DeleteYep, I have to have music when I write. It works best for me when it's atmospheric and either wordless, or not in English, so that I don't get distracted by the lyrics. Sigur Ros is my perennial fav, but I also like some Moby (Hotel disc 2, specifically), and, believe it or not, quite a bit of new age music. I HAVE to listen to that stuff at my day job, so I pick out the songs I really like and add 'em to my playlist :)
ReplyDeleteYour day job is clearly more interesting than mine. :P I understand why some people get distracted, but I've gotten so used to having lyrics in music while I'm writing, it doesn't bother me at all. And I've only typed the lyrics once. Maybe twice. ^_^
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