Music and Writing

Confession time: I have concentration issues. For the most part these days, they crop up when I'm trying to write. If the TV's on, my focus is shot, and I'll be lucky to finish a full paragraph in half an hour. However, silence bothers me, too. So, my remedy?

Music.

Some people can't write with anything at all in the background, but I like to pop on my headphones, set an album or playlist on repeat, and let it drift into lyrical white noise. And whenever I'm writing something, I always end up gravitating towards one particular set of music over all others.

For my 2006 NaNo, Seashells and Horseshoes, the music of choice was Doug Cameron's Dublin Groove CD. Celtic music goes great with high fantasy in my mind, so that one was kind of a no-brainer. My 2007 NaNo, The Missing Sprites of Main Street, was low fantasy. Celtic music and small town suburbia? Not the best match in my brain. So I ended up listening to the .hack/SIGN soundtrack over and over. Nice bit of grit, but still whimsical.

This year, I'm writing the next book in the 2007 series, and for once, I seem to be listening to something with actual lyrics: Daughtry's second album. In a nice little twist of coincidence, turns out I'm writing a story featuring a pied piper to an album named "Leave This Town," something I just realized yesterday. Let's hear it for the subconscious!

So far, it's working out pretty well. The music's mostly upbeat and provides a nice background. Or, if I need a break, something to sing along and/or dance to. Granted, I may decide I'm sick of it halfway through November and switch to something else, but for now, it's Daughtry all the way!