I wrote most of Bend with music blasting in my ears. A lot of–if not most–authors write with music playing in the background. I prefer to work while listening to music through headphones. It’s the perfect way to shut out the world and focus on the words on the page, drowning out all the voices in my head except the ones that matter to the story I’m trying to tell.
Music also sets the mood. It influences the story, helps me bring my characters to life. Here’s a playlist of the songs that inspired me as I wrote Bend, several of which made their way into the book itself.
• Gray Or Blue by Jaymay (Spotify | YouTube)
• The Scientist by Coldplay (Spotify | YouTube)
• Demons by Imagine Dragons (Spotify | YouTube)
• Hard Sun by Eddie Vedder (Spotify | YouTube)
• Feeling Good by Nina Simone (Spotify | YouTube)
• Ghosts That We Knew by Mumford & Sons (Spotify | YouTube)
• We Are Young by Fun. (Spotify | YouTube)
• Save the Last Dance by The Drifters (Spotify | YouTube)
• Weighty Ghost by Wintersleep (Spotify | YouTube)
• Should I Stay Or Should I Go by The Clash (Spotify | YouTube)
• Ballad Of Fuck All by Malcolm Middleton (Spotify | YouTube)
• Can’t Help Falling In Love by Ingrid Michaelson (Spotify | YouTube)
[button link=”https://t.co/5G4hPlar6i” color=”black” newwindow=”yes”]Click for the whole playlist on Spotify[/button]
I never write with music. It’s too distracting. So there. 🙂
You used to! I distinctly remember you buying music I recommended. 😉
I can listen when editing, but not creating. UNLESS I play a single song on repeat that just zones me out, like Muse’s “Madness.” Oh, and I once wrote a book to Smashing Pumpkins’ “Adore” over and over and over. Mostly I listen to weird alpha waves stuff, heh.