Some people write with music, some people need dead silence. I also know people who can work happily with the TV on. For me, some kind of sound is necessary – although if it’s a playlist full of songs I know very well, I’ll inevitably end up singing along.
Whilst writing the novella, I’ve had a very particular playlist to hand – most of it is comprised of soundtrack/instrumental music, and occasionally songs in a foreign language – although I still have a habit of making up words to fit. My compulsion to sing along to music is unstoppable. For the curious, a snippet of the playlist is as follows (links to Youtube where I was able to find the song) – feel free to check them out if you’re the kind of person who writes to music, or even if you’re just interested in hearing some nice tunes:
– In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth 3 – Vitamin String Quartet
– Adagio in D Minor (Sunshine OST) – John Murphy
– Will You Follow Me? – Rob Dougan
– A Warm Place – Nine Inch Nails
– Capa Meets The Sun (To Heal) (Sunshine OST) – Underworld/John Murphy
– Time (Inception OST) – Hans Zimmer
– Welcome To Lunar Industries (Moon OST) – Clint Mansell
– Fisherman’s Horizon (Piano) (FFVIII OST) – Nobuo Uematsu
– Viðrar Vel Til Loftárása – Sigur Rós
– Baba Yetu (Civilisation 4 OST) – Crouch End Festival Chorus & Slovak National Orchestra
– Mombasa (Inception OST) – Hans Zimmer
– Vaka – Sigur Rós (watch the video if you can – inspiring, in a terribly sad kind of way)
– FFVII Main Theme – Nobuo Uematsu
The playlist goes on and on, but this is a good idea of the sort of thing I tend to listen to. I’ve been told to check out the OST for Interstellar so that’s likely to find its way to the list sooner or later…
Dispatches from the Sinister Room 