Music and Writing

[Alexander Trafford]

I don't know about all of you, but music is a vital component in the writing process. I do not think that I would be able to compose a role play without the assistance of music. Generally, i rotate between a 15 track Clint Mansell youtube playlist and some darker instrumentals that I've downloaded onto my computer, but, lately, the band Explosions in the Sky has appeared onto my radar and one song in particular has been essential to my writing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36U4ez7Az...E9&index=0

I figured i would share it with all of you, and hopefully it can inspire you too.

[Orion]

Explosions is great as background music for writing. A lot of post-rock bands like God is an Astronaut and Hammock are pretty sweet for that too.

[Vad]

I can't really tell you anything other that my music list is massive. I have over 600 songs in my Itunes playlist all for writing and a bookmarks tab full of youtube videos.

[Jonathan Meer]

Clint Mansell is bamf. As is Explosions in the Sky. Sigur Ros is good shit for that variety of music-writing.

I use Philip Glass quite often, as well as Sufjan Stevens' at his more minimalist (Enjoy your Rabbit). Rachmaninov and Scriabin are common on the classical front.

This is all for academic writing; I didn't tend to listen to music while writing a rp.

[Tamsin]

For me, listening to music while writing is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, listening to music can set me into a proper mood and tone for writing. On the other, however, it can also distract me from writing and I just end up listening to music without writing anything (especially if the music leads me to thinking about something other then what I am currently writing).

As for what I use, I generally do not have preferences. I listen to a wide range of music, so I can end up finding inspiration in practically anything. Lately, however, I have been listening to a lot of video game music. While it may sound strange, video games sometimes contain really fantastic music and it sometimes fits quite well with the themes you are trying to touch upon in your RP's.

[Mr. Zhu]

I enjoy warm soothing music in the background while I write. Mostly classics and sometimes even Jazz. The list is endless when it comes to the music I listen to when writing. Sometimes even sappy love songs drags a great post out of me.

[Psyren]

I listen to heavy stuff screamo or metalcore. And if im feelin good i listen to hymnals.

[Piper Juunanagou]

I'm in the same boat as Tamsin, I wind up listening to music (and most of the time singing along <_< ) instead of actually writing.

In light of my attention span, I tend to listen to instrumentals more so than tracks with actual singing. I have a massive folder full of Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario RPG, Final Fantasy, and Mega Man tracks that I rotate when I need some background noise to help work my writing mojo.

[Celena]

I ALWAYS listen to music when I'm writing. It definately helps me.

[Juno]

I go in and out. If I find something that really works, I'll listen to it, but most stuff just doesn't set the mood for me. A few things that have worked are Queen, the Beatles, and that sort of folk-ish soft rock or jazz (Colbie Caillat, Amos Lee, Danny Kaye, the Ink Spots).

[Kaden]

I definitely listen to something when I write. Either music or a DVD or something. It generally needs to be something that would be otherwise engaging so I can just stream-of-consciousness my RPs.

[James]

Trance or techno. Windows Media Player had a radio function that I browsed for trance channels consisting of DJs like Horatio or Tiesto. Those were club mixes that run on for hours at a time but if you're looking for shorter more concise songs then bands like Necessary Response, Fatboy Slim, Prodigy or 009 Sound System have a few good "mood setting" songs. Hell, jumping on YouTube and search for techno AMVs could give just as much inspiration as it does providing new music to enjoy. I have a few choice songs if anyone is interested.

[Orion]

I got my hands on some of the American DBZ music from the show. Since the music is one of the things I love about DBZ, I think that'll help inspire some awesome battle scenes.

[Vad]

I got my hands on some of the American DBZ music from the show. Since the music is one of the things I love about DBZ, I think that'll help inspire some awesome battle scenes.

Same here. I also use the Dynasty Warriors Soundtracks.