The Processes of Writing: The Use of Music · 6:24am Nov 25th, 2015
The writing process is something I don’t often comment on. Just as consuming fiction relies on subjective tastes and preferences, so does writing fiction rely on techniques and processes unique to oneself. How one writes is a very individualistic thing, which is why writing advice often needs to be non-committal and generic to be even remotely useful.
Sometimes, though, hearing about the creative process of others can be interesting. It might help one consider things that you had not. It might give one insight into one’s own creative process. It might reaffirm why one does things the way they do. So today, I thought I’d talk about one aspect of my own creative process; music.
I think music is an important tool for writing, because it helps set a mood. It helps get one into a specific mindset. After all, in can be difficult to write a Comedy if one is in a bad mood.
When I am writing, I try to select background music that matches the pace and tone of the story. For a Comedy, I might pick something upbeat and goofy, if not explicitly comedic. For a drama, I might pick something more melancholic and slow, or something which references more serious themes. For a surreal, dark piece, I might choose some more ambient and haunting. The specifics fall exclusively on one’s own musical taste, of course, but there are a few websites which actually play to this. They intentionally create playlists that appeal to specific moods or activities.
Some examples from my own writing may help illustrate this. When I was writing Battery and If You Came to Conquer, I listened to the soundtrack from the movie Moon (a slower, ambient album with lots of creepy undertones). When I was writing the opening scene of Pictures of Lily, I listened to Riot by Paramore (an upbeat power pop album with lots songs about romance). When writing I Am Not the Actor, I listened to a lot of The Who (many of whoms songs deal with identity) and Nine Inch Nails (many of whoms songs deal with themes of nihilism and futility). Finally, when writing Elements of Excess, I listened to a lot of MC Frontalot (a nerdcore rapper whose songs are characterized by fast pacing and geeky subject matter).
The other major way I use music is for inspiration. I think that this ability to evoke mood also has value when creating stories, as well as when writing them. In the past, I have referred to music as “a steroid for the imagination.” Music is one of those unique forms of entertainment which is not strictly tied to logic. While many songs have a coherent plot, most rely on their ability to evoke emotions and mood, rather than their ability to tell a truly compelling story.
This means that when one is listening to music, it can be a good time to let the mind wander. To stumble upon ideas, to let the subconscious bubble up to the surface a bit.
Perhaps this would also be best illustrated by example. When I got the idea for Highway Robbery, it was from a single line in a particular song (“I tried to sell my soul last night / Funny, he wouldn’t even take a bite”). That line got me thinking; what circumstance would lead to the/a devil turning down the purchase of a soul? Whom was buying the soul? Who was doing the selling? Ultimately, the story has nothing to do with the song, but that initial catalyst, that driving question, came from listening to it and letting my mind wander. Similar processes led to the genesis of several of my stories.
Again, the specifics and efficacy are a matter of individual taste. And, given the circumstance, I can write well enough without music there to guide me along. I think, however, that music is a uniquely varied and powerful way to convey emotion. For an art form which relies so heavily on the author being in the right mindset, on being able to convey their own thoughts to the reader, music can be a powerful tool. Funnily enough, a lot of this can also be true of what is reading/watching at the time, not just listening to.
Thanks for reading. How does your own creative process intersect with (or ignore) the use of music? Is there something else you use which fulfills a similar purpose? And be sure to tune in next time, when I discuss the use (or lack of) outlines and planning tools, and how that affects my writing processes.
I mostly avoid listening to music while I'm actually writing, but I sometimes use it to hype myself up for writing. I, too, sometimes will grab a particular line and think about a story that I might write about it - or come up with a series of events that match a song or piece of music. In fact, I frequently tell myself stories in my head while I'm listening to music.
I just avoid actually writing most of the time while doing it because I've noticed that I have a terrible tendency to want to click over to more music, particularly music to suit the story in my head, rather than continuing to write.
I'm constantly listening to music. The only time I'm not is if I'm not at my computer or listening to something that isn't music. So it doesn't bother me, is what I'm saying. :B But I seem to be the exception.
I'm in the same boat as 3567350 on this. I don't listen while actually writing, but music is a big inspiration to me too. Specific lyrics can evoke some very vivid images for me, and I'd say that music has probably inspired 90% of all my ideas. In fact, for more than one story of mine, I have a designated theme song for each individual chapter, even those not yet written, usually intended to be linked to in the author's notes.
I find myself only able to listen to instrumental pieces while trying to write. Lyrics are a bit too distracting for me. Same thing for trying to memorize information. Anybody else in the same boat?
I'd also like to answer a question with another question for the sake of discussion.
How do you feel about the copy/pasting of song lyrics into a chapter of a story? Personally, whenever I see an author putting song lyrics into their story, there had better be a good reason for it being there. My goodwill for quoted song lyrics lasts for a mere two sentences. Anything more than that I always perceive as a crutch, padding to facilitate lazy writing that can't be assed to try and establish a mood in it's own words. Please, feel free to agree or disagree, but tell me why. I'm amenable to changing my mind if it is justified. :)
3567350 Clicking new music does happen to me sometimes. It's why I prefer to use playlists or whole albums, since having to select new music in the middle of writing can disrupt the writing process. I get easily distracted while writing in general, but it tends to be from things besides the music, like Steam or Firefox or whatever else.
3568217 I tend to use theme songs for characters more than chapters. While sometimes I have tied specific pieces of music to certain scenes, it doesn't happen too often.
In some cases, my characters get multiple theme songs for different points in the story. For instance: Pinkie Clone from I Am Not the Actor has "905" by The Who at the beginning of the story and "Copy of A" by Nine Inch Nails around chapter 12.
I also don't explicitly mention them in the author's notes too much, though; The Unexpected Sexual Harassment of Twilight Sparkle is the only place I remember doing so. Most of the time they are a writing tool, and so mentioning them in the author's note feels like disruptive trivia rather than a substantial comment about the story.
3568763 I hear that's true of a lot of people (they find vocals and lyrics distracting). I generally tune in and out of lyrics, and that can actually help my writing. I pause a lot while writing, and listening to the music during that pause can re-assert my mood or give me a bit of a prod in the right direction (provided the music is chosen well).
I strongly recommend to any author NOT put song lyrics in their story (strongly enough to use italic caps
). I would argue, however, that the problem isn't laziness. It's a lack of effectiveness. For written music to actually do anything for the reader, the reader needs to be very familiar with it beforehand. Even if they are, chances are reading the music won't have the same emotional effect as the actual song.
Transmitting an inherently aural medium like music into a sight-based medium like prose is a recipe for disaster, and the pros definitely do not outweigh the cons.
I was actually an editor for the first chapter of The Mane Six Discover Human Music, and that was one of my two major complaints--the abundance of lyrics peppered throughout the story. I knew the song in question, and I only found the lyrics disruptive. The author disagreed with me and left them in, but then the mods forced their removal for copyright reasons.
This can even go so far as poetry--I found the poetry segments in The Lord of the Rings to be quite dull and intrusive. I was never sure of their supposed cadence and rhythm, and they were often dumped into the text in large blocks. Even if Tolkien was a better poet, the delivery of the poetry was quite inelegant.
The only time I've ever used music in one of my stories was The Unexpected Sexual Harassment of Twilight Sparkle. Even then, I only did it because I was very sure the entire audience would know the song, and I thought it was a crucial characterization point for Pinkie Pie. Even in those ideal circumstances, I'm not sure it worked well.
So, basically, I agree with you