Writerly Ways

[cornerofmadness]

I've been reminded this week that a lot of author (self included) like to write to music. Of course your individual mileage on this will vary. I've had friends who insist quiet is the only way. Me, I never insist on a one size fits all approach. I was reminded of this by Maggie Stiefvater's tweet about listening to Ronan's techno as she wrote (really, Ronan? Techo??) and then upon making my nano project for this year, their new site actually had a link for your playlist as you make up the novel info.

So a lot of music is out there. Oddly enough These Haunted Hills has no play list. Others have lists that fit the time period (20s and 30s music for Soldiers of the Sun) or the characters. Sometimes I just use classical or symphonic.

For me, it's silence that does me in. How about you? Here, have the playlist for the very long Buffyverse story I just finished Like Stone. Each of these reflect the chapters I attached them to.

"Portishead - Wandering Star" (Watch on YouTube)

Have some links

From around the web - Self-published Authors Are Empowered Authors

Develop Your Story By Listening To Your Cast

The Importance of Setting In Your Story (I might have shared this one before)

here. Hometown Reads reading related vs writing. Read local

And from Betty

Info Dumps to Plot Reveals/

The Emotional Power of Connected Settings

NaNoWriMo Prep: Planning Your Novel’s Middle

How to Train Your Editor Brain

How to Hurdle Your Writer’s Block

18 Ways for Protagonists to Contribute This is good for teams of characters

How to Create Villains Who Are Actually Intimidating.

Comments

[jenett]

I definitely have to have music on, but while I love the idea of doing a playlist for a book, I haven't been able to make that work for me.

My writing music needs to be instrumental or have words in a language I can't begin to get a handle on (so I avoid Latin and most Romance languages, also German), and it needs to not particularly grab my attention.

I have a Spotify account, and there are a bunch of public playlists for writing, and for things like RPG background music that I mine, but I'm currently in a phase of 'none of these things are making me entirely happy'.

(Also, I need to weed other people's lists of things like movie soundtracks from movies I know which are distracting when writing.)

[cornerofmadness]

That's too bad about not finding a playlist that works for you. I will admit some are much harder to get one than others (the bigger the woobie, the easier it is for me, don't want to know why)

Right now Midnight Syndicate and Nox Arcana are working for me as instrumentals

[spikedluv]

I can't listen to anything I have to pay attention to (or am tempted to pay attention to), which is why going to a cafe or having a baseball game playing in the background work for me. That's the level of sound I need. The above idea of an instrumental would probably work for me, but it would have to be on low. Or maybe the sound of water, birds, etc. I might have to try something like that. I remember finding a website that had the sound of a coffee shop playing and I tried that at home a couple of times, but then I totally forgot about it.

[cornerofmadness]

I'm pretty sure either pandora or spotify had a 'coffee house' playlist (or maybe both).

A lot of people I know can't write to things with words they know and might want to sing with. That honestly doesn't bother me which is a good thing I suppose. I can tune out most anything

[spikedluv]

The thing I was talking about isn't a playlist, it's literally the sounds of a coffee house -- low level conversation, clinking glasses, etc.

I tend to tune out music when I'm driving, for instance, and working through a story in my head. Which is one of the reasons I don't bother putting on music.

[cornerofmadness]

Oh I see. Hmmm I've seen that for woodland scenes and rain but never a coffee house.

I get you. That's me with books on audio. I'm rubbish at listening to them.