Does your life have a soundtrack? A playlist? An assortment of songs that evoke different moods for you?
Sometimes I’ll be driving in my car and hear a song on the radio, and I’m transported to my first love, my first grief, the day something important–or maybe just really memororable–happened to me.
Music is a big part of my every day. Which is ironic, really, because I can’t carry a tune in a bucket. I know nothing about music (except what moves me). And my entire musical education amounts to a series of half-hearted piano lessons.
But maybe it’s like painting. Or a delicious food. You don’t have to be able to make it in order to appreciate something good.
With every new book, I have playlists. It’s not something I plan out–just what happens over the course of writing a novel. I’ll hear a song that evokes a setting, a character, a certain mood. I know many writers have rituals, and one of my favorites is going for a jog in the morning and listening to various songs that get my head in the book.
Music conveys so much emotion, and I love listening to it as I get ready to write.
I hear Stephen King listens to loud rock music while composing his prose. Wow. This would not work for me. I love to be inspired by music, but if I listen to lyrics while I’m actually writing, somehow the words get in the way. What about you?
I did something new for my upcoming release… I sat down and made a list of some of the songs that inspired the story and the characters. Mia (the heroine of the story) is a DNA expert who works at a prestigious forensic lab. She’s smart, capable, and top of her field. But as the story unfolds, Mia’s life spins out of control. She finds herself targeted by a vicious criminal, on the verge of professional disaster, and– maybe worst of all — falling for a man who is all wrong for her.
One of the songs on Mia’s playlist is “Acrobat” by U2, and it has that feeling of everything being in chaos. For a look at Mia’s complete playlist, see http://www.lauragriffin.com/books/unforgivable.php I’m so excited about this book, and in celebration I’m giving away a free iPod nano on the contest page of my web site! Hope you’ll stop by to enter the drawing (same link as above).
Is music a part of your routine? Does it inspire you? Leave a comment and be eligible to win a signed advanced copy of UNFORGIVABLE!
Oh, and in other news, I just joined Twitter! If you’re on, you can find me at Laura_Griff
Actually, no. I rarely listen to music, when I do, it’s mostly when I’m driving because there isn’t much else I can do safely while I drive, and it doesn’t convey much emotion for me at all. I think it’s so funny when people say they cry listening to music. It always makes me arch my brows or roll my eyes, because it’s just music. Of course, there are songs which remind me of certain periods of my time — and they bring back certain memories. Like, if I listen to Linger, by The Cranberries, I’m instantly transported to December 2006, and it smells like pink hair dye, beach and feels like the sun on my skin. But, even then, it’s just a song.
Songs don’t really inspire me to anything. I don’t know, I’ve never been much of a music person! 🙂
Hi Barbie,
Sounds like it brings up memories but doesn’t stir your emotions… So maybe you can’t relate to the David Spade / Chris Farley scene from TOMMY BOY where their driving down the road listening to The Carpenters and bawling. 🙂
I write to music when I’m working in the evenings- in the morning it’s too quiet and I like it that way. I don’t create soundtracks per se but when I find something that clicks with what I’m writing I’ll listen to it till I know it by heart.
And music always brings back memories for me. I have a great love of 50’s and 60’s rock and roll because it was the first music I ever remember hearing. I also love my 80’s music because it reminds me of happy times. And in the car I always have music on- mostly loud rock and roll.
There are only a handful of songs that will make me tear up but that’s just because of the feelings and memories they trigger.
What is it about that 80s music? So peppy and catchy! And corny, too. Just the other day I was listening to that song about the astronaut who gets lost in space and says goodbye to his wife… Can’t remember the name, but it is seriously corny.
You used the word “trigger” and I would say music does the same for me.
Laura, that song is ‘Major Tom’ by Peter Schilling and I heard it yesterday on the radio as I was driving around. Fun fact- it was originally recorded in German (my brother had the single on vinyl and the German version was on the flip side.
And 80’s music was fun and hot- Duran Duran, INXS, etc.
I love listening to music, but I have to be in the mood for it. I went on a music cruise last spring, 20 bands, several of my favorites, each playing multiple concerts over 4 days. very cool!
A music cruise! How cool! We have tons of live music here in Austin. I’ve been to the Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL Fest) several times and it is FUN!
It’s cool you make a play list, Laura, I know a lot of authors who do that.
Like you, I can’t listen to music while I write. Period. I need silence. I listen to music in my car, or watch videos on TV…
With my kids all being string players in various orchestras, I’ve been exposed to a lot of different classical music too, some I love, some I loathe.
I will admit to using song titles as inspiration more than actual songs — as evidenced by my next Lorelei James book — Cowgirls Don’t Cry 🙂
I like it when authors use song titles for inspiration… Or snippets of song lyrics. Those are fun, too.
I don’t think I’ve heard COWGIRLS DON’T CRY but I’ll have to look for it.
In the car, I listen to a Christian music station. At home, what I like to hear most is quiet! If there is a soundtrack to my life, though, it would be Beatles music. I’ve listened to it my whole life. It’s still what I play when I want to sing along, or when I’m on a long car trip.
My kids loved the Beatles when they were toddlers. We’d listen to the Greatest Hits and they’d bounce around.
No I tend to listen to audio books when driving and at home I rarely have any music on.I don’t even remember when I was younger being much of a music lover. I know my kids usually have their Ipods on .
I haven’t listened to audio books since I was commuting three hours a day up in Chicago. They saved me from being bored to death during many a tedious drive on snow-clogged highways!
I love listening to Classical, pop rock, classic rock, Celtic and new country as well as blue grass. But if I try and listen while I’m writing I get totally distracted and listen or sing along, or dance instead of writing.
Hi Carol,
Yes, it can be distracting! Blue grass is wonderful. I have an Alison Krauss CD that just amazes me every time I hear it. Her voice… wow!
Laura, the gym! I love my iPod for the gym or walking in the neighborhood. I haven’t been able to do that much this summer as I had a flare up of my arthritis then fractured my toe. But that has nothing to do with music 🙂
I also enjoy taking breaks from writing and going over to iTunes to look for more music. It’s kind of relaxing and gives my brain a break.
I only write to music if I’m in the mood, otherwise, I prefer quiet. But I used to write to the noise of three teenage boys!
Hi Jen,
Yes, sometimes the music helps drown out the other noises! I get this in the coffee shop when people are yakking away on their phones.
Music is SO important to my creative process. Every character in every WIP had a soundtrack, and often, I find it hard to hit the right character voice if the music isn’t playing. When I revise, I listen to something without words to block out all other sound. Ironically, my husband doesn’t understand why I can listen to music while I write, but can’t handle the TV in the background…
Great post. Reminded me I need to update my playlist!
Hi Dawn,
Sounds like your playlists are very extensive. EVERY major character? That is awesome. I keep mine updated, too, because it can get stale after a while.
I enjoy a variety of music, but I usually only listen in the car. It really doesn’t evoke a time or place for me.
At work, I’m lucky enough to be able to listen to music, but I usually choose audio books. Since I sometimes can’t devote my full attention, the audio books must be books I’ve previously read or something really light.
Hi Anne,
I like music in the car, too. Unfortunately, when other people control the dial I end up listening to stuff that isn’t quite in line with my tastes.
FAERIE FIRE was written to the “Last of the Mohicans” soundtrack. On continuous loop. I wore out the cassette tape and had to buy the CD. Now it’s on my iPod, iPhone, and computers. (I also drove my family batty! LOLOL) In the just-finished project, Daughtry’s “What About Love” is the song I hear during the black moment.
I keep threatening to do a page on my website citing the playlists for each book–and yes, each book has one. Maybe I’ll do that when I need a break from writing. Usually, though, I just have the iPod on shuffle and listen to whatever comes up. If the song doesn’t fit the mood, I hit forward. When I hear a song that fits, though, I make a post-it note and add it to my writing board for future reference (usually during the editing/revision process).
I guess I’m weird. I can write in total silence, with music, or with the TV playing in the background. I’m a news junkie and nosy, to boot. But…I think I’ll turn off the news and try music since I keep pushing away from the keyboard and wandering the house as I puzzle through this next bit of plot on the new project.
Oh, Silver! I forgot about the LAST OF THE MOHICANS soundrack! I have that baby somewhere, but I haven’t listened to it in years. Thanks for reminding me. And it never hurts to revisit that image of Daniel Day Lewis racing through the woods in buckskins…
Oh, yeah! *fans self* Daniel Day Lewis in buckskins doing ANYTHING! But I like the music, too! LOL 😉
Music does inspire me and it is so easy to invoke memories with songs. That said, I don’t actually see it as a playlist for life.
I wouldn’t limit my life to one playlist. 🙂 More of an ever-evolving series of different playlists.
I have a writing playlist. It gets me right into the mood for my romantic suspense books, but I’m going to have to find a new one if my proposal ever flies. Another thing–my playlist happens to be one hour long, so I feel great when I realize I’ve written for a solid hour without noticing the time. One lyric line from one song was the total click moment for Blake, my hero in When Danger Calls.
Terry
Terry’s Place
Romance with a Twist–of Mystery
Lyrics can be so inspiring. To me, it’s the mark of good songwriting when the words could stand alone as poetry.
I love music of just about all types. It depends on the mood I’m in what I listen to. I like everything from Mettalica to Josh Groban and Andrea Boccelli. Right now I have Shinedown playing, I really like them.
Wow, wide-ranging tastes! I’m that way too. Think that’s great.
I’m fanatical about music. I would have music playing all the time if it was possible. The right song can inspire a new character, setting, scene, or an entire plot line. When that happens, it’s great for the muse. If I’m losing focus and spiraling into writer’s block land, then I can go back and listen to the song and the magic comes back. Unfortunately, songs like that don’t come along every day!
Hi Lisa, I can relate! I also find it helps me get back in touch with a book after taking a break for a while. So, if my editor sends me revisions, I plug in that playlist from a book I haven’t worked on in months and get back into the groove.
During the week the husband is at work and the kids are at school and I can blast the music while I clean. Cleaning releases stress for me, I know . I like fast, hard driving music. I also love it when I am driving, alone. That way I can sing at the top of my lungs with the window down.
I listen to music on the commute to and from work and when I am cleaning house.
Music is definitely a part of my routine! I love it! I listen to it all the time, make a different playlist depending on what kind of mood I’m in, or if I’m going on a road trip. I listen while I’m designing it helps me think clearer.
The type of music I listen to definitely depends on my mood and the lyrics play a major part in my choices.
My soundtrack includes anything by The Verve, Coldplay and Jay-Z. The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony” was my anthem for a while. The lyrics fit how I was feeling.
I love listening to music. I love how personal it is. My favorite artists are Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift, and Carrie Underwood. I love how personal and emotional the songs are. I feel like I can connect with them as I can relate to the messages. Music allows me to relax by looking at the different emotions the music evokes in me.
Oh, when it’s a housework day, then I put Knightwish in my CD player, crank it up high and start swinging that broom!!!!
Valerie
in Germany
I like listening to all different types of music depending on my mood. I enjoy classical in the car to smooth jazz in the office to pop music when I exercise.
I usually enjoy singing to the radio in my car ride into grad. school. Also, when I cook – I need some music to inspire me. I tend to like 80’s hair bands, alternative rock & pop with a little country throw in like Carrie Underwood or Tim McGraw.
I don’t usually listen to music anymore.
I use music to find my happy place and it can bring me out of the dumps faster than anything else.
Laura, loved your short story in the Deadly book, but it was too short!! I wanted it to go on forever.
I love listening to Celtic music while I write. I don’t do playlists, just whatever is playing on my IPod wannabe.
Music is a huge part of my life. I would say it actually fuels me 🙂 I have my certain pick me up songs that I listen to when I need to relax and unwind. Tracey Chapman’s Fast Car is my main one and I always have it on hand. We have a radio in the bathroom and it’s always on while I’m getting ready. My husband likes it on the country station so that’s where it stays. Honestly, I listen to everything and don’t stay with one type of music. If I like it I like it and make no excueses. I can’t go to sleep without music playing and my kids are trained the same way 🙂 It drives my sister nuts when she spends the night because she likes complete silence but you don’t get that in our house 🙂 I also refuse to clean if I don’t have music fueling me. You can always tell when I am in a cleaning mode because I have my i-pod plugged in or the t.v. set to music and I’m jamming away. My i-pod also gets a great workout with me when I am in the mood to exercise, which is not often but it’s there for me when the mood strikes. My kids are quickly following in my footsteps and they have their favortie songs they are always requesting in the car. My oldest is hooked to his i-pod and my middle child is asking Santa for one for his birthday. My 3 year old daughter dances around the room any time music is playing and always tells me to turn it up.
I usually listen to music in the car or at work. I had my son in 99 and i gave him up for adoption to a family who couldn’t have kids. Cher’s song “Believe” helped me get thru life. I still listen to the song. =o)