by Addy Farmer
This is my starter/root/anchor song for a story about a terrible Summer holiday. I put it on loop and I'm into the sad-summer-takemehomenow-groove. It's also, extremely catchy ... BEWARE.
Some people like to write in company, some people like to write in the deep silence of an empty house. Others find that writing in a cafe with somebody serving coffee and cake is tremendously helpful (sounds like madness to me, hem-hem).
Whilst some people like to write to music. Sometimes you can find that song that encapsulates everything you want to say about your story and if you do then you're lucky because that's like finding your voice and it's shortcut back into the groove. More often than not I have to play stuff which reflects the theme of my wip and leave the specific songs to individual scenes. For a general creative lift I might listen to Classic FM or i-player radio 3 . There I can find a shipload of classical toons which help my mood but don't interrupt my tiny brain thoughts.
ALSO, why not try free music streaming from somewhere like Grooveshark. .Here you can make your own collection of music, even play your own radio station. Choose your genre to fit your work - indie, 60s, 70s, rock, R and B etc etc - and let the music waft over you.
So, what great scenes will you write about? How about LOVE for one. Take this - your teen protagonist goes out on a 1940s themed evening and meets The One.
Oh but then it all goes hideously wrong cos your girl has fallen in love with The Wrong One
So she breaks up :(
But then it's unicorns and meadows again 'cos she's met The Right One and life is sweet. It's like Stevie says, As Long as I Know I have Love I can Make it. Quite right too.
What else?
Well, let's take a fight/battle scene. Try this ...
Friendship ...
Being silly...
Existential crisis ...
Okay, maybe I should stop because things are getting a bit personal. You get the idea anyway. If you want to get serious(er) then there was an interesting discussion sometime ago on Goodreads about this and Teaching Authors blogged some useful ideas.
There must be a few more writers who have opinions about music and writing, silly or otherwise. I promise that the team won't laugh/make assumptions about you, if you spill the beans on your music choices. Go on...
Love the music but no no no no music choices for me! I'm the coffeeshop rumble but total silence in my head type! Bet this will be right up Vanessa Harbour's street though!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Candy! My coffee shop has suprisingly good piped music, so joy a round.
DeleteCome to think of it, my coffee shop does have piped in music - but it doesn't call too much attention to itself.
Deletebtw love the Ella F track!
DeleteDefinitely right up my street you were right Candy!
DeleteGreat post, I often use music to inspire me whilst writing to set the mood.In my current WIP, a children's story about a little boy who raises a baby dragon from a hatched egg - then a few years later releasing him into his new home in the Scottish Highlands, I chose Maybe/Thom Pace:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKY23ah6PqQ
Thanks, Baz - LOVE your choice!
DeleteWriting to music really helps me, I have certain songs that fit different characters or scenes and it just gets me in the right frame of mind and taps into the emotions so well. It makes it feel filmic, obviously there's no music background when you read it, but that's the challenge - to make the music come out through the words. I went to a a workshop once where the tutor had a flowing track that changed the atmosphere of the music - you kept writing a scene seeing if and how the different moods of music changed the way you wrote. It's an interesting exercise to try. Thanks for the post. The last one was genius!
ReplyDeleteFeeling filmic is just how I feel when I write, so music seems a natural addition. What an interesting workshop! Thanks for reading and sharing, Vashti!
DeleteLoved the Beach Boys clip! Always wondered what a sloop John B was . . .
ReplyDeleteI find music inspirational and great for when I want to leap into fantasyland, but I write without it - I find it too distracting.
That Beach Boys song is still whirling away in my head! I know what you mean about distraction since I can end up just singing a song and not writing. In the end, it's all about inspiration. Thanks, Jackie!
DeleteUsing music that matches the mood of the scene sounds like a great idea. I may have to make a collection. What would Tolkien have written if he'd had this to listen to - The Misty Mountains by Peter Hollins
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEwzFF4HeB8&list=TL5c6IOATdq2k
He is amazing!
Don't ask me why but I was thinking of you when I chose The Lion Sleeps Tonight - I think it was the video that did it actually.
DeleteWill check out Misty Mountains!
It's the theme tune to the Hobbit but he does all the tracks himself. He does Game of Thrones too. Prepare to be wowed.
DeleteWowed!
DeleteI'm one of those who has to write in silence because music influences my brain too much to write to. but with the current WIP I've been doing a lot of my thinking and plotting in the gym to a collection of David Bowie. and I have such bad Bowie earworm at the moment...
ReplyDeleteEarworms - yes there is danger in listening to music. I found the Sloop John B earwormy. I understand about writing in silence as well. My best writing time is in the morning and I will write in silence then because sometime the work is structural and requires proper thinking. I find music is good with editing! Thanks for reading, Nicky!
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