Diving into the deep end

A few writer friends recently asked me on twitter if I had a blog.  At that point, the answer was, "No," because honestly I'm not sure how interesting I can be in this format.  I'm not sure how interesting I am in any other environment, come to that. ;)  Nevertheless, though I may not be able to add much to the plethora of excellent blogs out there detailing the journey from stolen-moment writer to published author, those friends were right to tell me that I really should have a web-presence in more than 140-character bursts.

So here I am.  And because I'm all perked-up by having just made this blog, I'm not content to leave the first post as just an introduction.  I'm going to talk about music.

On a writing blog.  Yes. 

The question of whether to have music on while writing gets a different answer from almost all of the writers I know.  Some need complete silence, some have quiet background music on some of the time, others can only write to classical or instrumental stuff.  Music-junkie that I am, I fall at the extreme must-have-tunes-ALLTHETIMEZOMG end of the spectrum.  I literally can't write without it.  This reminds me of ninth grade, when I actually proved to a teacher that I perform better on exams when I have something to occupy the rather large percentage of my brain that is susceptible to being distracted by sparkles. 

Recently, this has become even more of a "thing" for me since one of my current works-in-progress - and the one I am working on most diligently at this moment (when I'm not making blogs, writing introductory posts, baking cookies, or digging in the fridge for that last, lonely diet coke) is actually about music.  This means that those hours of playlist-building, which those uptight people in my life might label procrastination, are actually research.  Ha!  Shows what they know.

Currently playing: an eclectic mix of guys-with-guitars of the indie-rock persuasion.  The fact that most of them look great in eyeliner has nothing to do with my appreciation of their music.  I swear.  Though my protagonist is a guy-with-guitar of the indie-rock persuasion who happens to look good in eyeliner, so if anyone asks...it's research.  Inspiration, even.

It's likely that no one's reading this yet, but if you're out there...what are you listening to?  Do you have different playlists for different types of scenes?  Different characters?  Or are you the silence-is-golden type?

xoxo

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I fall at the same end of the spectrum. Must have music at all times. Not just when writing, but also when driving, cleaning, or staring at a wall. I have playlists for every writing project, cleverly titled soundtracks for the finished writing projects, driving playlists that correspond with the weather and my mood, and then just good ol' "this music makes me happy" playlists. But then, we've already determined that we're music soulmates, so none of this should surprise you. <3

fngrcufs said...

E, you're perfect :)

This actually struck a chord (see what I did there) with me. I used to write at my desk with headphones in, music going constantly and I was actually productive. Then I got a laptop, moved to the couch, with the TV nearby and suddenly couldn't write anymore. Coincidence? No. So yeah, I think I too need music.

What kind of music. Angsty chick folk, for the most part. Ingrid, Fine Frenzy, The Weepies, older Indigo Girls, The Sundays, Cowboy Junkies, Joshua Radin. Or stuff I grew up hearing my mom listen to; Fleetwood Mac, Carole King, James Taylor, Billy Joel, Heart. I could go on, but... well see, I DO ramble!

Also, I love that you are a goldfish like me (Oh look, something SHINY!). And obviously, you like 10 Things.

Great post, I love to read your words, rambly or not!

<3 B

Kassiah said...

You are awesome to the 2nd power! I listen to music when I write, and like jennifermbarry, when I do everything else. Maybe it's a coping mechanism--I homeschool so it's an outlet haha

I listen to a lot of different things. I can't post what I'm listening to right now on here, since it's a YA blog, but I'll tweet it to you. ;P

Great job on the new blog--I can't wait to read your pretty words. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Anonymous said...

Seriously... if you took my tunes away from me, I'd be one depressed human being. I don't claim to be a music know it all, but I think VH1 and then the Internet have taught me a thing or two about the artists I like: e.g. Loretta Lynn, Alabama, Craig Morgan, Fleetwood Mac, Bonnie Raitt, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Nirvana, Daughtry etc.
It's cool that you can write while listening to music. I don't think I could do it. I couldn't even study that way, because it was too distracting.
I'm so glad you made this blog. Maybe you could do a song/band rec of the day. :)

Emma Trevayne said...

Thanks for the comments! I agree, music is a life-necessity, not just something for writing, but the two do go hand-in-hand for me.

J - nope, not surprised at all. Heehee!

B - You got my 10 Things reference. You win! ;)

K - Thank you so much. I can totally see that music is an outlet for you...it's definitely a managing tool for stress/busy-ness for me, too.

Jo - I love the idea of recs...maybe not daily, but a playlist every week or two?

Francesca Zappia said...

Amen to this. I love writers' blogs, and I love listening to music while I write! I'll listen to just about anything, and most of the time the song has nothing to do with the scene I'm working on. (Just try Pendulum's "Self vs. Self" during a quiet dialogue-riddled scene between two friends looking at the night sky. Warning: speakers may explode.)

I can't wait to read more posts!

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