Writing Inspiration - Music

Music has a profound impact upon all of us. Certain songs will remind us of memories that we've had from our youths, first moments with someone that we love, favorite points in our lives that as soon as that song comes on, we are mentally transported back to that point in time. Music also is what makes movies so important to us, because they can help to sell the scene that we are seeing. From what I've been able to research for my own curiosity, about 10-15% of a movie's budget is spent on the soundtrack for a minimum starting point. In terms of writing, for me anyway, it is just as important as it is for a movie.

In my writing process, some of the scenes that I have written were based entirely upon a song that I was listening to, and I had imagined the characters conversing, acting in a certain way, or what have you from that song. Music is a key part of my writing process, particularly when I am drafting out select scenes that will go into a specific book that advances the overall plot for the Saga. For example, some of the Christmas scenes I was writing, I had been listening to Christmas music as I was drafting them out in order to get some of that holiday time cheer. Some are as simple as that, and others it was the mood that the music was trying to convey to me that gave me inspiration. Such as a feeling of heartbreak or sorrow.

Hearing music that gives me a particular emotional feel is very important when I want to express a particular scene in a way that is deeper to people than if I just wrote words down on the paper. It give those reading a universal feeling that they can empathize with as they read, and understand what the characters are going through. For me, hearing that feel of music makes me write those scenes so much better than if I just sat alone in an empty room and wrote it all out with no background noise. Both options achieve the same goal, but one of them will suck you into the story more than the other will.

Even if I didn't play those particular songs, or genre as I was reading back through the draft, it didn't matter to me, because the feeling that I had gotten from the music was channeled right into the words that I had written upon the page. It helps me to create the story. It gives the words a deeper meaning and connection to the reader that you just can't substitute.

The music that I personally listen to when I write is extremely varied. Some days it will be instrumentals from movie soundtracks; others it will be pop music from the 1970s. Some days I'm listening to big band and jazz music and that translates to a particular scene. The music that I listen to depends greatly on my mood, and not all of the songs that I listen to do become integral to the scenes that I am writing. In fact, most of the time that I am writing, the music is just background noise that allows me to get "in the zone" of writing.

For a great many that wish to know what their favorite author's writing process is, I realize that their music choice may not intrigue them. But there is a group that would be curious to what the music is that the author listens to while writing their the book. For me, I had never really bothered to be interested in such things until I myself began writing in earnest. It was a fascinating side to the writing process that I wasn't exactly prepared for. For me, there is no correct answer that I could give that "this particular song was what created this scene here". All of the different types of music that I listen to influenced it in one way or another. I would be hard pressed to state a certain song to suggest for my books. That isn't my focus. Writing the story out that is in my head is my focus.