Web Fiction Guide Forums | Writing
Novel Soundtracks
Hey guys... I usually have a soundtrack for everything I work on, and I was wondering if other people did the same. I always find it that knowing what music the author associates with a work adds an extra layer of insight. Does anyone have an 'official' soundtrack for their novel or blogfic? Want to share it?
I put together a playlist for The Lighthouse Chronicles on FavTape, a really awesome site.
http://favtape.com/windy/Lighthouse+Soundtrack
So... share yours too! Create it with FavTape or whatever other site works best for you and post it. I'm excited to hear new music! :)
Responses
Posted 2 years ago
My stories, and the scenes and things, tend not to have soundtracks...but I find that *I* will have things I prefer to listen to while writing. or silence. It varies pretty widely. I know I listen to a lot of Nightwish when I write (and do anything else, really). Or Thea Gilmore. Or Dio. Et cetera. But it's rarely story-specific, it's just music that compliments the headspace I am in which is leading to a story at that moment.
If that makes sense. :)
Posted 2 years ago
Totally makes sense! I do that a lot too -- pretty much that's what a soundtrack is. Except in your case, it's a Writing/Creative Soundtrack rather than one specific to the work.
I have heard some Nightwish, one of my friends is obsessed with them, and they are tons are fun.
Tales of Pneuma
Posted 2 years ago
http://www.imeem.com/dialogs/standaloneplaylist/?k=mMzWqkrcK_
This is mine. Since it's an anime/light novel type of story, it's fitting that it would have it's own soundtrack. The first and last songs are what I count as the theme song and ending song. There are also image songs as well on another playlist.
Then there's a list of songs I listen to for inspiration. Many of those are movie soundtracks from Narnia, PoTC, and from Miyazaki movies and instrumentals from animes like Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo.
Posted 2 years ago
Ooh, the first Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack wanders in and out of my regular house-filling music lineup. That's got some good, good stuff on it.
Kingdom of Heaven, not only being an utterly fantastic movie, had a magnificant soundtrack as well.
Actually, one of my favorite things to write to, or just to sit in the dark and listen to, is this beautiful CD I have by Yo Yo Ma. I love him anyway, I'm a sucker for the cello. But this particular CD is him playing stuff by Ennio Morricone (who did the soundtracks for those classic Clint Eastwood westerns, if you don't know, like Hang 'Em High, Good, the Bad and the Ugly, etc). That stuff, done on a cello, is even more magnificant.
Oh dear. I'm about to dissolve into babbling music geekery and completely derail this thread. RUN!
Posted 2 years ago
Haha what's music geekery for if not a thread about writing with music? What's the name of that Yo Yo Ma album? I want to give it a listen.
And I definitely agree with the Bebop, Miyazaki and PotC soundtracks as great for writing to.
Tales of Pneuma
Posted 2 years ago
I've toyed with soundtracks for my novels, but never really came up with anything in particular. It's more like what PeeDee said for me - when I'm writing a specific novel, certain songs put me in the right headspace.
Although with my last novel, there was a definite sound track for the first time ever, and it lead me to a really enjoyable musical discovery. Namely: Three Days Grace, Time of Dying.
Posted 2 years ago
This was the best I could work out of FavTape: 7 Days Soundtrack. The kids in 7 Days live on ska and punk, despite being very low-key. For them, punk represents being able to do what they want, being able to be who they are. Ska is their music, the music they understand. Their taste in both is still shaky, undeveloped, and they're still exploring the bands.
Posted 2 years ago
I don't have an outright *soundtrack* for my stories, but there are a lot of songs that come up that remind me strongly of the characters. In particular:
"Endlessly" by Muse ( http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4jf67_endlessly-muse_music )
"I Will Follow You Into the Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie ( http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3023314378177846006&ei=f6GoSeyjOaPWqAOTp9mGBg&q=follow+you+into+the+dark )
Both these have been striking a chord with me related to the writing I've been doing - the first for the main character of Ephemera post-chapter 2, the second for another storyline I was working on with a friend called Dystopian Tragedy.
Whenever I'm writing, though, I've got a Muse-based playlist on Pandora.com that I listen to. That website is a godsend, no exaggeration.
Posted 2 years ago
I listen to music incessantly when I write- it keeps my concentration. I find http://www.last.fm an excellent source of music, since it shuffles bands of similar taste automatically.
Muse is great, the 28 Days later soundtrack keeps coming up, Philip Glass's piano works are perfectly minimalist, rock music is good for action scenes and of course there is this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYwpt092O7U
Which I would count as one of the most inspirational string pieces I've ever heard, and I just damn well don't care how nerdy that makes me...
Posted 2 years ago
Usually, I listen to songs/music that match the feeling of that particular chapter that I'm working on, but then, sometimes it is very distracting so I decided to turn it off.
Posted 2 years ago
@grantcravens: I like that you built your soundtrack specifically on what your characters listen to, and have those choices reflect the characters as well.
I like that there seem to be two camps: those that find the music keeps them on track, and those that find music a nuisance to hear when they work.
Thank the heavens for last.fm eh?
Tales of Pneuma
Posted 2 years ago
I don't listen to music when I write. I'm in the "it's a nuisance" camp. When I start writing, volume goes down, WriteRoom goes up, blinders on. I even have an Automator action to do this, too. =D
Music helps me day dream, but not focus.
Posted 2 years ago
Well, for Superstition, I always think of Superstitious by Stevie Wonder. It just fits the concept so well. I always thought that if Superstition were made into a TV series, that would be the themesong.
Posted 2 years ago
I usually write with music on in the background. I don't listen to anything special, just the same mix of stuff that I like that I listen to everywhere.
Whether it helps or hurts depends on the day. Most of the time it helps. Sometimes I get distracted by the lyrics or start thinking about the structure of the music. At that point, I turn it off.
That being said, I like Smashmouth's song "Everyday Superhero" and think it would be a good theme song for my story.
My Blog (Jim's Brain Online)
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