Soundtracks

Happy Friday! It's the best day of the week. Unless you're on holiday; then every day is good.

On Wednesday I spent a good hour thoroughly enjoying myself, hunting for soundtracks to write my new team of novels to. I had to pick an oceany-sounding soundtrack for Aqueous (temporary title), an intense, driven soundtrack for Survival, and a post-apocalyptic with a little dragon mixed in for Fire.

I found them all. (Hans Zimmer is a god of music, and Steve Jablonsky's works are imagery in musical form. Well, both of their works are.) Anyway, it inspired a long overdue post about one of my favorite aspects of writing.

Music.

I can't write without it. Music plays a very important role in my life in general. It soothes me, motivates me, inspires me. It can pretty much put me in any mood you can think of. For me, writing and music are one and the same. I don't often have one without the other.

My favorite thing to do as I'm preparing to write a novel is to pick a movie soundtrack for it. All my novels have one. This way, each novel's playlist has the same feel, and later, if I ever want to pick the novel up again, a few notes of that theme song will transport me right back to my world.

It's magical.

I wrote Darkblood to Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard's "Batman Begins" soundtrack. I wrote Xiomara to James Horner's "Avatar" soundtrack. In fact, a few weeks ago I picked up an Avatar birthday card in the grocery store, one of those that play music when you open it. The moment I heard those notes, I went right back to Xiomara's world.

Question time! Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what are your favorite artists? What feel do you usually lean toward? Lyrics or none?

I know I can't have lyrics. And my favorite artists are James Newton Howard, Hans Zimmer, Steve Jablonsky, James Horner, Michael Kamen, Patrick Doyle, Rachel Portman, Alexandre Desplat, Harry Gregson-Williams, etc. Love. Them. All.

Your turn!

Enjoy the rest of the day and weekend!

Best Part of Today: Grooming and chillin' with a pony. Or maybe meeting another bookworm whilst picking a paddock.
Currently Craving: Chocolate. I'm off sugar at the moment, and there's a bag of chocolate taunting me from my desk drawer.
Music Pick: "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby 
I'm Reading: "Gulliver's Travles" (ick!)

WIP: Fire (1,326 words*)

*I started over. Don't ask.