I graduated from high school in 1974. (You do the math.) Throughout school, I listened to The Beatles, The Monkees, Paul Revere and The Raiders, Bread, Bobby Sherman. (I had such a crush on Bobby Sherman!) Yep, I was a pop music junkie. While most of my friends had their radios tuned to country music (it was Texas, after all), I bebopped around my bedroom to The Partridge Family.
I've always loved music. Any job became easier if I could listen to my favorite songs. When I started writing, music naturally went along with it. The type of music depends on what I'm writing. Sometimes I want to bebop along with those great '70s tunes. Sometimes a movie soundtrack will put me in the exact mood I need. Classical, rock, pop, soft instrumental. It all depends on the scene and the characters.
Imagine a funky bubblegum song playing instead of the "da dum da dum" you expect when Jaws is in the water. Doesn't work at all, does it? It's the same with writing. The music has to be right or the mood is broken.
I write erotic romance. I have to concentrate when I write a love scene for I want it to be right. I want the reader to *feel* everything my characters feel...every sigh, every kiss, every whisk of fingertips over bare skin. Listening to songs with lyrics distracts me during those crucial scenes, so I turn to New Age instrumentals. The strings, harps, and flutes all go along with the sexy mood I'm trying to convey.
Does music play an important part in your life? Tell me about it.
Lynn
While I'm driving and listening to music, scenes come to mind for whatever book I'm currently writing. I like Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson, Katy Perry, Celine Dion, and tons more artists.
ReplyDeleteHowever, when I'm actually writing, I have to put on instrumental music, otherwise the lyrics compete with my characters' voices and I can't listen to both.