Music moves and inspires me.
Puttering along in my zippy little car this morning, I enjoyed the digital strains of the new Tron Legacy soundtrack by Daft Punk that I bought my son for Christmas.
Yes, we have very similar music tastes and he always burns new soundtracks onto his computer and I-pod then gives me the CD. It almost seems self-serving everytime I give him the gift of music. But I digress.
So as I'm speeding along, trying my best to avoid policemen, track 10 hits the Bose speakers (yes, I'm a Bose junkie when it comes to that sweet bass). Suddenly the whole world drifts away and I'm in my newest novel, Piercing the Darkness, and the inspiration goes gangbusters. The scenes open up before my mind and I see it all performed as if watching on a stage.
The lyrical strains of the cello lead me through dark, rank alleys, homeless crawling through dumpsters in their search for a morsel to stave starvation. Then a hand reaches out with a fresh morsel and leads to the cardboard hovels and fires of a homeless encampment. My protagonist, Samantha, works the streets to earn cash to feed the wretched of society, to offer scant medical attention to the least of these. All the while she's being hunted by the dark hand of the Elite, who are rapidly closing in on her location.
So how's that for a preview?
Almost every time I sit to write, I search my CD library for just the right mood music from the not-nearly-big-enough stash of soundtracks from my favorite movie composers. It helps me set the scene and enter deeply into the psyche of my characters.
Writers out there - do you ever use music to help set the mood and pace of your writing? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject.
Puttering along in my zippy little car this morning, I enjoyed the digital strains of the new Tron Legacy soundtrack by Daft Punk that I bought my son for Christmas.
Yes, we have very similar music tastes and he always burns new soundtracks onto his computer and I-pod then gives me the CD. It almost seems self-serving everytime I give him the gift of music. But I digress.
So as I'm speeding along, trying my best to avoid policemen, track 10 hits the Bose speakers (yes, I'm a Bose junkie when it comes to that sweet bass). Suddenly the whole world drifts away and I'm in my newest novel, Piercing the Darkness, and the inspiration goes gangbusters. The scenes open up before my mind and I see it all performed as if watching on a stage.
The lyrical strains of the cello lead me through dark, rank alleys, homeless crawling through dumpsters in their search for a morsel to stave starvation. Then a hand reaches out with a fresh morsel and leads to the cardboard hovels and fires of a homeless encampment. My protagonist, Samantha, works the streets to earn cash to feed the wretched of society, to offer scant medical attention to the least of these. All the while she's being hunted by the dark hand of the Elite, who are rapidly closing in on her location.
So how's that for a preview?
Almost every time I sit to write, I search my CD library for just the right mood music from the not-nearly-big-enough stash of soundtracks from my favorite movie composers. It helps me set the scene and enter deeply into the psyche of my characters.
Writers out there - do you ever use music to help set the mood and pace of your writing? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject.
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