Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

Hello all.
My name is Lawrence Wray and I've written a novel and a short story, all while listening to classical (mostly) music.
I know I'm not the only one who does this, but wondered what all the other authors out there listen to while they write, or are there any other options.
I usually log on to YouTube and listen to Lang Lang on the piano, Beethoven Moonlight Sonata, Rachmaninov Concerto number 2, etc.
Catherine Jenkins is also excellent, but sometimes she carries you away from the writing.
Anyone write to rock and if so who? Jazz anyone? Instrumentals?

Music can be very inspiring for writers. Classical music is great especially Bach and Vivaldi. I listen to everything. Of course, ballads help if you're writing something romantic or sensitive.

I need silence to write, music to paint. Mostly classical.

Sometimes I listen to the band Muse, but I'm also a fan of classical.

I listen to whatever fits the part I am writing. fast music for action parts and so on. Always helps the words flow better.

I have to listen to instrumentals. If the music has words, I'll sing along.

It's the Pink Floyd, obviously. But once I get going, I can write to just about anything ... anything that I would ordinarily listen to, of course.

I like to match the music to the genre I'm writing. For the sci-fi thriller I'm working on currently, I've been listening to a lot of moody ambient soundtracks, energetic techno, and vintage electronica (Cliff Martinez's Contagion soundtrack, Orbital, Juno Reactor, Tangerine Dream, Phillip Glass, etc.)

Minimalist tunes and driving beats are great, because they keep me energized without pulling me out of the scene. Sometimes, I'll switch it up with a bit of classical: Rossini and Bach are favorites.

Lyrics are off limits because they distract from the dialogue in my head, and the fragments have an annoying tendency to creep into my writing.

I write fantasy, so a lot of the music I write with is off of movie soundtracks. I find that whatever I find 'moving' in movies is very inspiring. So I have a writing playlist to work with and I'm adding to it quite a bit. It's everything from Pirates of the Caribbean to City of Angels. My taste and range in music is very, very broad. :)
If I am writing something modern, not really fantasy, I've got lots of Nightwish, Green Day and other bands to choose from that fit the scenes. So it is more personal choice than anything, I think.

M.L. wrote: "If I am writing something modern, not really fantasy, I've got lots of Nightwish, Green Day and other bands to choose from that fit the scenes."

M.L., my wife is a Nightwish fanatic. She would be thrilled if I listened to Nightwish as I write. =)

Opera, but not in English; I like to have the human voice, but words I understand pull me away from my words. I think the drama of opera, the story, the expression of emotions are why I go heavily opera and not instrumental. Mine's either early/baroque or Wagner's medieval-inspired work: they suit my medieval writing.

Loud.

John wrote: "M.L. wrote: "If I am writing something modern, not really fantasy, I've got lots of Nightwish, Green Day and other bands to choose from that fit the scenes."

M.L., my wife is a Nightwish fanatic. ..."

I love Nightwish! I have a friend in Germany who is trying to get me some signed posters. :)

I made this playlist during NaNoWriMo last year. It turned out to be a big help whenever I was not in the right writing mood.

Normally, though, I listen to either black metal or classical music (preferably works containing organs)

I do a lot of my writing in pubs, so have got used to having music on while I work.

When I am working at home, I tend to go for silence, but the Manic Street Preachers will always sustain me through a late night writing session.

Rock and metal works well for me. If there's a lot of drums I tend to write quicker!

The best music to write to, is probably the music you like best.. ;-)

V4e Corp

Very good point.

I think it's going to be Meatloaf tonight. That Bat's coming out of hell, going back in again and then the monster will be loosed. Damn deadlines :(

Whatever suits the character or the setting. Right now, Beautiful Decline, by Abney Park is a favorite.

Familiarity is key for me. I don't listen to a lot of music, so if I put something I don't know very well on, it always ends up distracting me. I have a few bands I've listened to since high school, and usually leave them on in the background, because I don't have the urge to sing along, or try to puzzle out the tune or lyrics.

Love it Andrew, (Bat out of Hell) but couldn't write to it. I'd be drumming outrageously on the table instead of working.
If it's on the car radio it makes me break the speed limit.

Wrote a scene that demanded I listen to 'Black' by Pearl Jam at least 30 times.

Yes, I've had scenes that needed The Smiths on loop, or David Bowie, until the scenes are written. That's a couple of days.

I listen to alot of downtempo kind of music like Milosh and Osho. I make a playlist for each book that inspires my scenes and characters.

I like classic country and classic rock as a general rule, but country seems to sooth me when I write. Also, listening to the same music over and over is particularly useful for me because I just get lost in writing and at some point don’t even hear the music anymore. I made a Spotify playlist of the music I most listened to when I wrote my book. Here is my "Beautiful Wreck” writing soundtrack

http://open.spotify.com/user/stephs91...

I can't write to anything with lyrics at all, so I usually listen to either Irish traditional, especially The music of the Irish Whistle -- Joannie Madden; New Orleans genre with Alain Toussaint; and easy jazz, like the MJQ, etc. Those fit my genres pretty well, too which helps with setting and detail.

For me, I listen to ambient-type music. Definitely worth checking out certain artists like Steve Roach or Robert Rich.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I also love most anything my composer Thomas Newman, who has done many award-winning soundtracks. My two personal favorites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv9pOH...
(from 'American Beauty') - I can close my eyes and listen to it for hours

https://soundcloud.com/robertogarc-a/...
(from 'The Road to Perdition') - I can listen to the whole soundtrack from beginning to end over and over

Troy wrote: "Oh, I forgot to mention that I also love most anything my composer Thomas Newman

Newman's good. I seem to be in something of a minority as I really enjoy his score for SKYFALL.

I will try Newman, love writing to soundtracks.
Right now I love Steve Jablonsky he did the soundtrack for The Transformers. My favorite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b674L7...

Cindy wrote: "I will try Newman, love writing to soundtracks.
Right now I love Steve Jablonsky he did the soundtrack for The Transformers. My favorite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b674L7..."

Same here, Cindy! Soundtracks are all that I listen to when I write. I'm in love with the Alice in Wonderland soundtrack composed by Danny Elfman.

I love soundtracks as well! (If I write something more modern, I tend to intersperse appropriate-sounding lyrical music, where needed.)

Unfortunately, sometimes recognizable soundtracks (such as from Pirates of the Caribbean, etc.) can stick in my brain with their popularly associated imagery. This is how I wound up with 17th-century-esque pirate vikings in one of my books...

With Spotify, I clicked on "radio" to generate a station based on my favorite score tracks that I have in a playlist, and discovered James Dooley (among others), who composes his own independent score albums. This is fabulous, and they (along with the score for Snow White and the Huntsman -- which I refuse to see because I don't rate Kristen Stewart as an actress and therefore have no competing mental imagery to contend with) have helped propel me through 20k words in a week!

Wonderstruck and Untold by James Dooley are wonderful albums for fantasy novelists, although Untold can easily be used for historical fiction, depending on the time period. Position Music-Orchestral Series Vol. 4 is for Action/Adventure/Fantasy, and is available on two different album versions: with choral accompaniment or without. Position Music - Orchestral Series Vol. 2 is a bit darker, probably more suited for fiction with warfare or a lot of tense, combat or dark emotional scenes, etc.

Hopefully this helps! I live on these albums! (I also use the albums by Sound Adventures.)

(Edited because after midnight my knowledge of subject-verb agreement turns into a pumpkin...)

Tori wrote: "Cindy wrote: "I will try Newman, love writing to soundtracks.
Right now I love Steve Jablonsky he did the soundtrack for The Transformers. My favorite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b674L7..."
..."

Oh Tori, I haven't listened to any of Alice and Wonderlands. Great! Going to give that one a try as well!

Kella, some fab ideas there! So excited now for some new material:)

Classical for me, mainly, something I wouldn't listen too ordinarily - Beethoven 1st and 2nd piano concertos, (-oes?), some opera highlights by Mozart.

I always feel pumped when I put on Beethoven's Ninth and I'm still writing at the end of it. 78 minutes of solid writing done, woohoo!

The key for me is familiarity, so I don't have to focus on it. I usually edit more to music than write to it.

I'm an 80s teen, and there's quite a few pop songs from the 80s on my writing playlist as well. I discovered The Go-Go's last year, that's a blast.

Soundtracks by the old master, John Williams; I end up air-conducting the Superman theme or turning it up though ;-)

Lyrics don't bother me, I can take them or leave them.

One group I can listen to while writing just about anything is Enigma. Do have a tendency to listen to a lot of older Metallica and Iron Maiden also because I write horror.

I make a playlist for every novel I write. I add songs as I go, but usually have at least 10 or so to start with that keep me company and put me directly in the mood of the book - useful when I need to get cranking fast! :)

Movie soundtracks are my most common choice since they fit so perfectly with a story frame of mind.

It's classical music for me too. Plenty of Thomas Tallis.

It seems a lot of people are in agreement that listening to what you normally enjoy helps the writing process. I find the same true for myself.

I tend to listen to a very broad range of music depending on my mood, the mood of the scene and what kind of atmosphere the scene needs. I'm finding that aside from classical and movie scores, video game scores are an amazing genre of highly emotional music. My most current obsession (aside from the game itself) is the score of Transformers: Fall of Cybertron. Skyrim and Assassins Creed also have amazing scores.

Other than that I listen to Vangelis, Arvo Part, Linkin Park, Breaking Benjamin, Red (is great for really moody/emotional scenes) Stained, The Civil Wars, Mumford and Sons . . . I'll stop there ^_^

Well the music would depend on the story. Mostly I write to older pop songs from the 80s and 90s with a lot of celtic and filk music mixed in but the story that is currently perking away in my head needs something more westernish. Good old cowboy songs. I don't have any so I am searching for something to fit. Need to be dark since this story will be about a ghost

I tend to be very descriptive in my writing so anything that puts me in the moment I'm writing about with my characters is invaluable. I tend to gravitate toward soundtracks (typically instrumental) with my writings but not exclusively. If it inspires me I go with it :)

I've used artists like: James Newton Howard, Enya, Bear McCreary, Laura Marling, Lisa Gerrard, Hans Zimmer, Angelo Badalamenti, The Raveonettes, Christina Novelli, 2002, etc.

I listen to smoother sounds, like r&b but I also have the TV going sometimes. I don't know how I can multitask like that. Practice I guess. :)

I usually listen to Michael Bublè and piano music,very inspiring and relaxing

Lawrence wrote: "Hello all.
My name is Lawrence Wray and I've written a novel and a short story, all while listening to classical (mostly) music.
I know I'm not the only one who does this, but wondered what all t..."

I kind of run all over the place. Alt rock and classic rock turned down soft. Sometimes I can't concentrate at all and it has to go off. But I really recommend Snow Patrol. Their early stuff is good for middling parts :)

Music figures fairly heavily in our book "Which One Am I?" and we've also received interest from a couple of film producers. To move that forward, we put together a mock soundtrack and that's what drove me to complete the work. One example is on our book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l9Cw...

For emotional scenes I tend to listen to Christina Perri.
For fight scene...Bon Jovi fo sure!

Oh dear, I'm afraid I can't listen to anything whilst I'm writing, it takes my head away from the story too easily.

But walking on the moors with just me and the dog inspires me over and over again.

I used to listen to music while I wrote, and it had to be genre-specific: classical for literary; alternative for sci-fi; and heavy metal for horror. Sadly, what used to add to my writing experience now distracts me from it, and I must write in silence.

For the classical fans out there, I would like to recommend Anton Devorak's "New World Symphony." It's simply brilliant. There is one part toward the end that always stops my heart for a moment.

Leigh wrote: "I used to listen to music while I wrote, and it had to be genre-specific: classical for literary; alternative for sci-fi; and heavy metal for horror. Sadly, what used to add to my writing experien..."

Me, too. I'm a musician (voice, cello, piano) and no matter what I play, I get caught up in the music itself. I can write nonfiction work with background music. But for fiction, I must immerse myself in that world.