I love listening to music when I write. In fact, music is what stimulated much of my creativity for the plot of Beast and Beauty. When I'm cleaning, walking, or sitting in front of an unfinished manuscript, music--especially movie soundtracks--get my mind moving in unconventional ways. I have a playlist that I set to shuffle, and if a song with winsome strings and a heartsick melody comes up then I'll contemplate a scene that involves those same feelings in my characters. If the next track is rhythmic with a pounding bass that anticipates danger then I'll turn my thoughts to an especially frightening or perilous scene. Music helps me feel what my characters are feeling, and get inside their hearts and heads to discover what the circumstances are that make them act the way they do.
Here is a tiny sampling of some of my favorite "inspirational" songs. They have helped shape my story and I am forever grateful to the marvelous composers. Maybe they'll spark something in your creativity as well!
as a composer, it's very interesting for me to read how music can spark you to be creative in writing
ReplyDeletebecause it often works in the reverse for me where writing, stories and images can provide inspiration to create music