I don’t drink. I listen to music instead. It gives me just the right amount of high I need to get under the skin of my character and wear it, be it, write it!
As the mood of the story changes, so does my playlist. I could be listening to Asturias one day and I Just Wanna Make You Sweat the next – or within the hour – who knows? Only the characters and story determine that.
"Sway with me."
If you've read the book then you know now what I was listening to back then :)
Then of course the story needed to have a theme song. The one that I could listen to over and over and over and over again. The one that’d help me propel the story forward, give me a better insight into the theme itself and the characters. The characters usually have an anthem of their own but one needs to rule them all so one song needs to take the lead and rise above all else.
My theme song for Aoife & Demon: Cursed be the Syhlain was this:
I have to say and you have to take my word for it till you tune in and listen for yourself, that station has some awesome, super inspirational beats! And for every occasion in life that you can think of too. Their treasure trove ranges from humorous to fairytale romantic to scary Halloween numbers; kids rock and rap and women’s lib to funky, weird and pure good melodies praising parents and everything nice in the universe including diapered superheroes and shampoo.
Check this out and tell me you’re not impressed (and I shall boo you for being unimaginative)!
Underwear
by Barry Louis Polisar
Underwear is everywhere but mostly underneath.
Usually you can't see what goes on beneath
Ragged clothes, evening gowns or the finest three-piece suit.
Underwear is everywhere; there is no substitute.
Everyone is equal when it comes to underwear,
Because beneath your underwear it's just yourself that's there.
Everyone wears underwear -- or at least they should.
Underwear is lots of things, but mostly it is good.
(for complete lyrics visit http://www.barrylou.com/lyricsUnderwear.html)
Music never interfered with my hell-bent-on-work mind. In fact, it always facilitated and still does whatever I’m doing. Like Amy Adams' Happy Working Song from Enchanted -I believe that.
I wasn’t allowed to listen to music while doing homework during my school years but as I neared graduation, Mom eased up, lifted all the bans and curfews and bought me a Sony Walkman. Yeah…remember those? I used that thing to the hilt, wore it down into the ground and that’s when I discovered that music helped me prep for my exams better than anything especially with subjects pertaining to numbers. I had Accounts in college and Financial Planning in business school. I would study for it all to the enchanting beats of Enigma.
You would agree, dark topics as these require mysterious melodies to open up to.
My tactics haven’t changed even now. Even now when I’m in the writing zone, my cd player goes BOOM! Music – orchestral, lyrical – it doesn’t matter. It just helps me focus on what I’m thinking, what I should be thinking, how I should write what I’m thinking and helps me write what I wanted to write. It’s like my magic wand. I wave it. And I am able to dish out sentences I don’t cringe to read later. That’s an awesome feeling!
Right now I’m listening for the perfect theme for book 2 in the Aoife & Demon series. We don’t have a name for the book yet. And we don’t want to give away too much but I will
leave you with this one beat that works really well for what’s about to come. Enjoy :)