Writing Playlist?

Each novel I write gets its own playlist. It puts me in the mood for the story.

Lately I've been listening to lots of doom metal/stoner rock. (Not a smoker, just like the music.)

Sleep's- Dopesmoker
Shrinebuilder
Black Pyramid
Electric Wizard

All have been in heavy rotation lately. The repetitive droning stuff just sort of gets me in a zone.

I try to listen to stuff that isn't too heavy on the lyrics. Movie scores are good (Dark Knight, Kick-Ass, Let the Right One In, etc.). I've been listening to Puscifer, some old Morrissey, The Cure, Blue October, plus some indecipherable metal music.

Game soundtracks and movie soundtracks work best for me, also trance/electronic/chillout. Certain scenes need mood music!

I can write to vocal stuff sometimes, but I really do think I do my best writing with the appropriate instrumentals.

I listen to movie soundtracks too. I'm listening to the music from Kindom of Heaven right now.

Oh, and Mahler's second symphony works really well too. Classical music in general gives me the right feeling, I suppose. I've listened to Tosca for more than six months before it's power ran out.

Van Morrison seems to provide a lot of creativity for me. His songs have a jazzy pace to write to, too.

I listened to 'Theory of Machines' by Ben Frost while writing my first manuscript.

Lately i've been listening to a lot of Motown while writing.

I've used playlists for the last 2 novels and 1 movie (all sadly unfinished).

UF novel - Chalice and Cradle Of Filth
Movie - All the female-vocals bands I had on my computer at the time
Contemporary F novel - All the female-vocals metal bands on my computer.

Yeah, I write a lot of women-centric fiction.

I love music, but I can't listen to it when I write. It either blocks out the writing or becomes a background irritant. I do love the sound of typewriter keys, though.

I have just realized how amazing writing to a combination of Kamelot, ISIS, Sunn 0))), TOOL and Symphony X is. I think I need to make a separate writing playlist now. Prog-metal, Post-metal and Avant-garde all the way.

I usually listen to the same song over and over for the length of the writing session. I always thought I was weird for doing that.

Arcadia Divine said:

I usually listen to the same song over and over for the length of the writing session. I always thought I was weird for doing that.

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I run and write like this. I'll loop a song for an entire 5k. I'm more of a folksy/indie person when it comes to music. Have you listened to Metric? They're less folksy and more indie rock, and I love their lead (Emily Haines). Other than that, Fleet Foxes. If "White Winter Hymnal" doesn't get you reeled into their music, it might not be for you.

It seems for my current WIP project I've been listening to a lot of Quebec based bands like Catherine Major, Karkwa, Amelie Veille, and Daniel Belanger I don't know why since I'm not French-Canadian or French in general.

For my middle grade book a lot of Cirque Du Soleil Soundtracks, as well as Phantom of the Opera, Bat for Lashes, and Voltaire.

Each novel I write seems to have it's own playlist.

Everything I write has it's own. Right now, 3 Days Grace's album One-X has become my go-to inspiration music for this werewolf story, possibly series I'm working on.
"Animal I Have Become" is the theme song.
"It's All Over", "Never Too Late" and "Get Out Alive" are the other 3 main songs, but the whole album is great.

I get a lot of inspiration from Country music, too.

Omnipony.
Some lil Wayne (yeah, I said Lil Wayne)
Some Game BGMs. [Pandemonium, FF9]
Biometix.
DJ Bjra [Bee-ra, like Bjork. You know. Bee-ork]
ParagonX9
Flash game BGM [Enigmata, the first one.]
Beats Antique
Some Sonic 3 & Knucles
Savant

And others.

Bellydancing, dupstep, game, jazz, hip-hop, rap, RnB, classical/instrumental, New age, mood/atmospheric, and a splash of folk/country music tends to influence my WIPs.

TKoE is a mash of dubstep, bellydancing, new age, atmospheric music and game BGMs. It would be your typical fantasy story on horseback... except that it takes place to

Stuff like the Omnipony.

I swear. Science-fantasy ftw.

two steps from hell makes great epic music, it really helps create the mood for, well, epicness, or whatever it is that I strive to become

Arcadia Divine said:

I usually listen to the same song over and over for the length of the writing session. I always thought I was weird for doing that.

Click to expand...

I do this too. I find if I switch songs I start paying attention to the music instead of what I'm doing. If I find that I can't get past a point, usually a change in song works. If you're weird, so am I.