Writing Fuel · 4:17am Mar 8th, 2016
Y'know what I like?
Well, besides tea?
Music.
You know what music is?
Writing fuel.
I've always listened to music when I work, relax, or basically do anything that does not require being aware of the audible nature of the world around me. Music is especially nice for writing, although I find I need to pick an album that really reflects the tonal qualities of whatever it is that I'm writing.
For example, whenever I write Synthetic Bottled Sunlight, I'm almost always listening to Tim Hecker, who creates industrial drone music with shockingly organic qualities. It's particularly useful because it drives forwards an emotional mood without becoming distracting. It's more or less a single sustained melody, but arranged in such a way that it becomes hypnotic and non-repetitive.
(I actually bought this at the record store blindly cause I liked the cover, then became obsessed with it and exhausted this guy's discography in like a week) Soundtracks are another welcomed tool, whether they be from a film or a videogame. Again, never distracting (they're usually designed not to be) but provide a whole lot of assistance with emotion and tone. The soundtrack for the video game LIMBO or the movie Gravity are both good examples of what I mean. I often listened to the Twilight Zone's eerie and breezy score while writing Dusk Falls, or the more lonely sounding songs from Skyrim while writing Cyclosa.
Music can also be used for inspiration. Several times I've just crafted an entire story based on one song (Cosmic Funeral owes its existence to Radiohead's Pyramid Song). The lyrics and structure of music are designed to conjure up emotions (or at least good music is) so it's hardly surprising that so many stories on this site share their names with songs. Hell, other times you might not even notice how much of a song you're infusing into your writing.
When you write, you basically have one job. People assume writing is about telling a story, but any talentless jerk can tell a story. Just ask Abraham Simpson, you can tell a potentially interesting story and still bore the hell out of people if your execution is wrong. No, the job of a writer isn't to tell a story, its to stir up emotions. And hey, if music is a tool that helps stir up emotions for you, maybe it helps you transfer those emotions onto paper (word processor, whatever) too!
What about you guys? Do you like to listen to music while you write, or do you find it distracting?
I'm not a writer, though I think I would use music. Seeing an author link the music they listened to in the author's notes of a story is a somewhat common sight I'd say. I've actually found a good number of bands and songs I like through fimfiction because of that, which is super cool.
Well, I'm getting acquainted with ambient. Here's one pony-related:
I stopped writing long ago. All my work is shee-it.
So... so cold.
Hell yeah. I prefer to listen to music based on what I'm writing. For example my first published story:Befriending a Prince (Shameless self promotion!) I listened to more generalized songs. Lullaby for a princess here. Some Staying alive over there. But that's me. Go Disco!