The Songs Stuck in Our Heads
Many people have writing rituals when they work on a manuscript. Some light scented candles. Others have a special writing place in the house. I’m among those who need music for writing.
There’s something about music that helps me tap into another place in my consciousness. Certain music sounds trigger different ways of writing. I tend to use a lot of movie soundtracks instead of music with words, because otherwise I’d be tempted to sing along. When I turn on the soundtrack, it becomes the soundtrack to my story. The subconscious tone and mood help me to reach into the emotion of the characters. Some of my favorite soundtracks include “Braveheart,” “Last of the Mohicans,” “Batman Begins,” “Gladiator,” and “Lord of the Rings.”
The strangest part is that, each of my books tends to have a theme song that does have words to it. Often a particular song on the radio will grab me, and as the lyrics start to percolate in my brain, story ideas form. The first time I heard “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence on the radio, I started to imagine a hero who needed someone to literally bring him to life and help him to escape the horrors of his past. Eventually that novel became my first book, Her Irish Warrior. 
Sometimes the songs create the stories, and sometimes I discover that I’ve been listening to a song in my off-time and it infiltrates the work. Nelly Fertado’s song “Say it Right” had the lines: “You don’t mean nothin’ at all to me. Oh, you could mean everything to me…” I kept listening to the song over and over, not understanding why the music was grabbing me. It was only after I finished my book that I realized what that line was. It represented the hero’s denial of his feelings to the heroine. Most of Her Warrior King was about a hero who was unwilling to love his Norman bride, and her steadfast patience and stubbornness brought him to his knees.
My current theme song is by Bonnie Raitt—”I Can’t Make You Love Me.” The story I’m working on involves an intricate love triangle, and this bittersweet song suits it perfectly.
What about you? Do you listen to music when you write? What kind of writing rituals do you have?
Since I am so easily distracted, I need it to be perfectly quiet. Wait, I think I hear the ice cream truck…ah, what were we talking about?
Michelle, thanks for your lovely guest blog! I know a lot of people get motivated by music, but I’m as easily distracted as Barbara. Plus my dog is in and out, and I need to listen for her “barks” to see if she’s barking at someone walking on the street or if she’s barking to come in.
My life is full of excitement; at least Barbara has ice cream.
Michelle, loved that you joined us at Magical today! And I’m right there with you, music is a must. One of my favorite things is my IPod. With every novel, I connect with a song in some way, and it takes me where I need to go. I’d be lost without music.
Lucky Barbara and her ice cream truck!
Thanks for blogging with us today, Michelle. I cannot listen to music while I write, it distracts me too much, but on my morning walks before I write, I listen to music that suits the mood of my WIP, and those songs become my soundtrack. I feel fully into my story by the time I sit down to write it after my walks.
Hi Michelle!
Yes, I listen to music, but No lyrics. Otherwise I find myself singing along, which doesn’t help the productivity one bit! I have a bunch of soundtracks. The Princess Bride. Robin Hood. Zorro. And for the last book I found three CDs worth of Celtic harp music that worked perfectly.
You guys are too funny. I think I get more distracted when I see baked goodies or chocolate lying around. Music helps me focus my brain. I wonder if it just helps me tap into my right brain more easily?
My only writing rituals are complete silence and distance from the kitchen. I’m too easily distracted by noise and food to have it any other way.
i work best when I have the iPod blasting. of course then i sing out loud and the family has a huge problem with that. pfft. so i close my door.
Hey, Michelle! Thanks for guest blogging at MM. I’m with you–I have to have music playing, and my dog doesn’t mind. Did somebody mention chocolate and baked goodies??? Pass the cookie plate please.
Depends where I’m at in the book, Michelle. I’ll listen to the Stones if I’m working on an action scene, or the LOTR soundtrack for the more romantic portions. Most of the time I like it quiet since I tend to mumble my dialogue as I write it.
Great blog. Thank you for joining us here at MM.
This is terrible to say, but I do find that there are certain foods that help me get around plot problems. Jalapeno potato chips, for one. For whatever reason, when a book isn’t working, if I dive into a bag of those, I figure out what’s wrong. Odd, isn’t it? And I definitely pay the price for it later! (gulp)