Personally, as a paranormal romance author with more introverted tendencies, I believe in the power of quiet and the necessity of solitude, to give my imagination free rein, but sometimes the clicking of the wall clock just gets too loud.
Some of my author friends create soundtracks for each book. They say it helps them capture the mood and infuse the setting for their books and I believe music can be very effective for that purpose.
Me, I tend to have music going to offset any slow moments in my general writing process. I have brass choir albums for when I need a burst of energy and speed. I have classical music and Copland for editing. And I’ve found Celtic artists are especially effective for making general progress in the first draft or when I struggle with something in revisions.
One of my closest friends uses music instead of caffeine to get going in the morning. What??? It works for her, builds her personal world for the day, but I’m not ditching my coffee habit anytime soon.
Having more time alone – since the kids are both away at school means I turn on music more often through speakers instead of just the ear buds. Which led to a discovery of which kinds of music my greyhounds prefer. Bandit (the youngest) likes music – any music, though he prefers the upbeat stuff. Boo is a fan of the brass choirs.
Lately to get myself ramped up for my writing (and since no one’s here to object), I’ll turn on different music to set the mood for the scenes on the writing agenda as I’m fixing breakfast for the pets. The dogs and I almost get to dancing around the kitchen in anticipation.
The cats aren’t so amused by what they perceive to be a delay in the feeding process, but it’s added a bit of fun to the daily routine of feeding the ‘zoo’ in the mornings.
One thing I can’t do is write to lyrics. I love listening to my favorite artists and lyrics when I’m driving or working out, but when it’s time to get the words on the page, I just stick with instrumentals.
What music fuels your work, your creative process, or simply regenerates you?
Live the adventure!
