Sunday, June 21, 2009

Music and Writing

Hello, fellow wordsmiths!

I've been thinking about the process of writing. Everyone's approach is different. For me, I like to lock myself away and listen to music while creating or editing. Time and responsibilities fall away, leaving only me and the words to drift along in harmony.

How do you write? Does music help you?

Last week, my friend and I debated the influence of lyrics on prose. As much as I can tell, lyrics don't tend to bleed into my passages as much as they inspire a certain feeling or mood, but I can see how distracting words sung in succession might be. We both decided that listening to movie soundtracks was a good compromise. With that in mind, I've recently discovered a few inspirational soundtracks that have helped me with the Elementalist Series. They are:

Solaris

Revolutionary Road

The International

Pride & Prejudice (2005)

Bram Stoker's Dracula




I'm always looking for more music suggestions. Please send some recommendations my way. :)

3 comments:

  1. Music usually distracts me ... BUT ... I did get a bunch of work done to the Bed of Roses soundtrack. Old though it may be...I LOVE IT!

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  2. I agree that I can't listen to music with lyrics while I'm writing. It's not that the lyrics seep into the prose. It's that while the lyrics are going, I can't think of any new words to write.

    I usually draft in silence. When I'm editing, though, sometimes I like wordless music. It makes the task go faster and, like you said, inspire a mood. I go for movie soundtracks too: Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Braveheart, Get Shorty. Also any jazz or classical music usually works for me.

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  3. Me too - I prefer to write in silence because it is usually work well for me.
    That's so much I can share with you, Hilabeans.

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