Let Music Set The Mood

I don't know where I would be, as a writer, without music. Usually, I plot my stories while eating lunch, cooking, doing up the supper dishes, or driving back and forth from my teaching job?but I've found that my plot ideas always flow more powerfully if I'm at the same time listening to music that inspires me. The individual artists I choose may change according to my mood, but one thing never does: I try to listen to emotional, highly-charged tunes and lyrics whenever possible. Doing so never fails to give me that little extra "oomph!" I need in order to think of that slightly different plot twist, that deeper edge of characterization, or that scene that's just a bit more gut-wrenching than what I'd originally planned. Music just seems to add something I can't get anywhere else.

Finding the music that inspires you isn't too difficult: just listen to a variety of the stuff you normally enjoy and then let your mind drift to your current work in progress. When you hit on a "match" between your music and your writing style, the ideas will flow more freely, or you'll suddenly get this surge of feeling that helps you to make your scene/character more emotionally resonant.

When I was in college, I used to write my analytical papers to the works of classical composers, like Bach, Mozart, or Vivaldi, because the regular meter and lack of lyrics worked well for me then. With my fiction writing, however, I've found that I need something different. My tastes currently lean toward the powerful, Celtic-style works of artists like Sarah McLachlan, Loreena McKennitt, and Enya. Other singers/songwriters inspire me as well, though more often on individual selections rather than whole albums. In the past I've used the works of LeeAnn Rimes, Celine Dion, Charlotte Church, or soundtracks from films like "Gladiator", "Titanic", and "Braveheart" to inspire. Sweeping, epic music seems to work well for me - and it may for you too. So next time you're stumped in your writing, pop in your favorite CD and see what happens. You might be surprised!

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