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009: Soundtracks
I like building soundtracks. Music is a consistent part of my daily life; I think the only time I haven't got something playing in the background is the half hour between waking and breakfast. There is some color and rhythm around me all day. It's only natural that I think about the soundtrack to the book as I write it.
I used to pick music for each chapter as well as finding theme songs for the characters to help me delineate their attributes. I've got a CD-R somewhere which is a 70 minute summation of a book lying in a drawer. Listening to that mix reminds me a great deal of where my head was when I wrote that book.
You also have to be careful what you listen to as you write. Too much White Zombie that year definitely lent a pallor to the text which contributes to its accelerated sense of age. Too much sensitivo indie pop will result in characters that will be played by Ethan Hawke. An abundance of ambient music will result in your readers zoning out as they tumble into the mantra-chant of your letters.
I tend to listen to records that I know very well while writing. I want the noise, but want to be able to ignore the details. I want lyrics that I know well so I'm not distracted by the clever phrasing or the patter of their dialogue. I want their strength but not their influence. A number of writers I know prefer soundtracks while they are writing. Energy, but no words, keeps the distractions to a minimum.
I had my head turned by a sample once. My fingers were stuck, the events on the page having caught me fast, and I couldn't quite figure out the solution to my problem. I'm was listening to Front Line Assembly and a sample from the film Falling Down popped through the mix: "Heat seeking, shoulder firing, and fucking disposable." My fingers start moving. Two guys in a convertible with a portable rocket launcher have just driven up.
The soundtrack should present solutions; it should give you direction.
What is being poured into your ears while you type?
Posted by Teppo at November 12, 2002 08:16 PM