Music to listen to while writing...

[skywriter16]

ok so I'm writing and I'm trying to get angry because my main character is suppose to be pissed :rant:what do I listen to? do you guys ever ask that or ever listen to music to set your mood?!:D

[som1luvsmi]

OMG! I have a whole playlist called creative writing on my ipod. I do that ALL the time. It kind of depends on what your MC is angry about.
General anger - Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit
Relationship troubles - I'm Not Okay by My Chemical Romance or Said the Spider to the Fly by the Paper Chase.

If you want to give a little more info tok the circumstances, I can probably come up with a few more. :)

[skywriter16]

ok well she is mad at this guy who is a complete jerk and is completely arrogant but she likes him too.... he knows so much about her but she knows nothing about him and she is so completely angry that she just wants to scream!

[skywriter16]

and i used completely a lot in that.... sorry

[windyrdg]

Have never been able to listen to music while writing...too distracting. I go into the spare room, pull the blinds, fire up the PC and enter the world of my novel.

My wife, also a writer, listens to CD's continuously. Don't know how she does it.

[KikiteNeko]

If I want music that'll make me angry I might put on some Britney Spears or the Jonas Brothers. Or, you know, anything on American Idol.

[misa101]

Alice Cooper is all I listen to while working on my current WIP. He inspired the plot and a lot of his stuff is very angsty so it works for me.

[dirtsider]

I just realized how weird I am - when I put on music to listen to while writing, it doesn't matter what scene I'm writing. I've gone from Gregorian chants to Disturbed without worrying about the feeling of the scene.

[ccv707]

Various kinds of classical and new age music, depending on the nature of whatever I'm writing. If I'm doing a fast paced action sequence, something faster paced. If it's a slower, depressing part, something more somber.

[EFCollins]

I just realized how weird I am - when I put on music to listen to while writing, it doesn't matter what scene I'm writing. I've gone from Gregorian chants to Disturbed without worrying about the feeling of the scene.

I thought I was the only person in the world who listened to Gregorian chanting in the same playlist as Arch Enemy, Disturbed etc. etc. I love the Masters of Chant covers... Their cover of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" is simply beautiful. I'll be walking down the isle to it when my husband and I renew our vows.

I'm a big fan of listening to Nevermore when in need of anger. Especially their album "This Godless Endeavor". Excellent progressive metal band. HIM is great for angry love, though.

[skywriter16]

so i'm not the only one! and tomothecat i love your post! i go crazy if i have to listen to any of that junk!

[Feidb]

I can't always play music when I'm writing, but not only am I always thinking of music, I like to plug my favorite bands in the story, if I can get away with it.

All of these bands inspire me and keep me in the mood. If I can't play them while I'm writing, I'll guarantee one of their songs is playing as the soundtrack in my mind.

Clear Light
Lothar and the Hand People
The Frost
The original Alice Cooper band
The Stooges
Picture (Dutch band)
Bubble Puppy
Bolt Thrower
Celtic Frost
Nightwish
Finntroll
Country Joe and the Fish
Dust
Three Man Army
The Koala
The Hullaballoos
Battleaxe
Fever Tree
Blues Magoos
Sir Lord Baltimore
Aorta
Mothers of Invention
Captain Beefheart

[WKolodzieski]

In my current WIP music plays a pivotal role so I am usually rocking out to various different things to get in the mood, ranging from pop to classic rock to modern hip-hop. Let's just say I'm getting a little sick of Kanye West around now....

[Chauchat Butterfly]

I always have classical or opera music on in the background when I'm writing though I don't pay much attention to it. I just need something to listen to other than keys clicking and I find other music too distracting/annoying. If I play something catchy I'll start focusing on the music rather than the writing.

[SouthernFriedJulie]

I have a playlist set up to ease myself into the mood. But Limp Bizkit, Ice T, and Eminem do the angry bit quite well.

Also Danzig, I like Long Way Back From Hell and Twist of Cain for angry writing.

[Eric San Juan]

I always listen to music while writing, but I do not listen to set mood. In fact, I don't WANT the music I'm listening to influencing my mood.

Rather, I want thought-cleansing music that helps me focus on my work. Something that washes out other distractions and zones me out. No singing. No lyrics. Usually it means something calming and ambient, such as Brian Eno or Windy & Carl or Labradford, or possibly mid-period Miles Davis if I'd like something more upbeat. Often it's aggressively room-filling drone/ambient music, such as my own m2 project (http://www.ericsanjuan.com/m2index.html), which I record in part because it relaxes me. (It's not for everyone. I know someone who listens before he goes diving because it sort of cleans out his mind. To other people it's unbearable.)

Orchestral music is also a frequent choice.

Like I said, I don't want something to influence my mood, I want something to fill up the room and cancel out everything but me and the keyboard.

[jodiodi]

I usually listen to classical or the new-agey stuff like Enya and that ilk. Stuff usually without words. Or I can write with sports on the TV. I'm usually not watching. But I seldom write in complete silence. I just can't write with people talking around me.

[Maple]

I make a playlist for every novel I start. It's mostly just for fun and for plotting, but I sometimes listen to it while I write. Other times I listen to whatever fits the mood of the story at that point, or I just write in silence. Sometimes silence is better for thinking, but I do like to have music playing.

[ElsaM]

I use music to get me going. After the first song I've normally zoned out and don't hear the rest. Right now I'm using Muse and Michael Oldfield.

[Jennifer]

Definitely classical and opera. The different movements bounce off your subconscious and slightly change how you think, giving your writing more depth.

[General Tso]

I'll just say that I've never been a huge fan of Thievery Corporation. But I just happen to have a lot of their music because of my roommate. One time I put them on while writing because I hadn't listened to them a whole lot.

An hour or so later I realized that I had just written the most in one sitting that I ever have, and Thievery Corporation was still playing. Apparently their music stimulates my brain in just the right ways, without distracting me. And I plowed on.

[Thomma Lyn]

Though I love all kinds of music, I can only listen to instrumental music while writing. Words break my concentration. My very favorite writing music is Rachmaninoff, but I also love Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Liszt, Handel, Corelli, Brahms, Grieg, oh so many. :)

[caitysdad]

i've always used appetite for destruction GNR for violence and anger.

[ccarver30]

I highly recommend this inspiring song. It is one of my favorites. The lyrics are incredible. The last four lines make me tear up almost every time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWCetC-3XP8



myspace.com/ConditionsBand

[LAWolf]

Music during plotting, sure. But I need it to be silent or at least very very quiet for me to be able to write. Lyrics certainly get in the way of me hearing my characters' voices.

[BlueLucario]

I always listen to some anime music. It keeps me pumped and fired up.

[vrabinec]

Alvin and the Chipmonks pisses me off like you wouldn't believe.