Writing Soundtrack
I know a lot of writers create soundtracks for writing, and many publish the playlists for their musical inspiration on their blogs or websites. As a writer (and I imagine this is particularly true of screenwriters), I can often picture a scene unfolding while listening to a piece of music. It's almost like a choreographer is sitting in my head, directing the action like a conductor directs the orchestra. Naturally, the type of music varies depending on what I'm writing, but I often find it easier to write to instrumental music as the lyrics tend to get in the way of my concentration on my own words. And every now and then, a piece of music will inspire an entire scene out of thin air.
I had such an occurrence last night. I was working on preparing the ePub files for Being John Bland for submittal to Smashwords while listening to a playlist of various pieces of instrumental and soundtrack music. Most of it was orchestral, but there was some other stuff mixed in there, like Thievery Corporation and some flamenco and traditional Middle Eastern music, both of which I love. A piece by Hossam Ramzy came on from his Immortal Egypt album, Sunrise at Giza, and suddenly I had a scene from Book 3 of The 'Ru Lexicon rolling through my head.
I wasn't actively working on this book. In fact, other than an outline, I haven't even started on Book 2, but I know what each book will be about. This particular scene was a steamy love scene, something so out of character for this series that I never would have considered it if not for this music. I wrote frantically, listening to the song over and over while I did it, until I had the entire scene down, as well as the set up for the scene and events that occur in Book 2 that lead to it.
The Muse is a tricky little minx. You never know when she'll show her head, but when you get in the habit of writing, you recognize the signs and can react to the opportunity. Having this scene written will now direct the progress of Books 2 and 3 because this event is the logical endgame for the series. And I have that piece of music to thank for giving it to me.
I had such an occurrence last night. I was working on preparing the ePub files for Being John Bland for submittal to Smashwords while listening to a playlist of various pieces of instrumental and soundtrack music. Most of it was orchestral, but there was some other stuff mixed in there, like Thievery Corporation and some flamenco and traditional Middle Eastern music, both of which I love. A piece by Hossam Ramzy came on from his Immortal Egypt album, Sunrise at Giza, and suddenly I had a scene from Book 3 of The 'Ru Lexicon rolling through my head.
I wasn't actively working on this book. In fact, other than an outline, I haven't even started on Book 2, but I know what each book will be about. This particular scene was a steamy love scene, something so out of character for this series that I never would have considered it if not for this music. I wrote frantically, listening to the song over and over while I did it, until I had the entire scene down, as well as the set up for the scene and events that occur in Book 2 that lead to it.
The Muse is a tricky little minx. You never know when she'll show her head, but when you get in the habit of writing, you recognize the signs and can react to the opportunity. Having this scene written will now direct the progress of Books 2 and 3 because this event is the logical endgame for the series. And I have that piece of music to thank for giving it to me.
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