I know a lot of people write to music. It makes sense – what better way to get yourself into a certain mood, or be inspired by someone else’s inspirational lyrics, and so on and so forth. “What do you write to?” seems to be a popular question every time writing comes up in a group of people.
99% of the time, I don’t have music going in the background as I write. Firstly, as I learned in college, I cannot write one set of words while listening to another set of words. (In a song, that is; I have the TV on in the background right now and that doesn’t seem to be a problem as I write this blog post. I think it has something to do with the rhythm or the knowing what’s coming up next.) On the very rare occasions I put music on as I write, it’s always instrumental.
Secondly, as I’m sure I’ve mentioned somewhere in this blog before, I’m a musician. Like, degrees-in-music-have-gotten-paid-money-for-performing musician. If I put a piece of music on to listen to, guess where my focus goes? Music has never really functioned as background noise to me; listening usually more of a conscious activity. It’s probably a miracle I don’t get into more car accidents with the radio on.
Now with all that out of the way, that doesn’t mean there’s zero connection between music and my writing. Like the rest of the writing world, I’m sure, I’m reminded of songs and pieces as I create my characters and scenes. Music is such an emotional experience, there’s bound to be someone before me who’s already captured what I’m trying to put into words in a different form. Just for fun, I created a playlist with music that’s tied to my current project in my head. (I say “tied to” because I’m not sure if the music makes me think of the story or the story makes me think of the music; it’s a two-way street.) I doubt I’ll ever play it while I’m actually writing, but I like making lists, I can keep adding to it, and I can always put it on while I’m knitting or cleaning or something. And if other people like it (both the playlist and the eventual book), even better!