I recently received an email from one of my Writer’s Center, Saturday morning students. He made my day.
This author had been struggling with focusing on his novel, as so many of us do. Often, it isn’t that we don’t want to be writing, or we think of the work as drudgery, or that we’d just rather being doing something else. What’s stopping us is the moment of transition. We have trouble getting into gear, moving out of the busy-ness of the day and into the story.
He found himself in the incredibly frustrating position of wanting to write, but sitting there, staring at the screen. And…nothing. When he did manage to begin writing, the process felt unsatisfying, at times painful. Then he recalled one suggestion from the list of tips I’d suggested in our Saturday “How to Write a Lot” class. Create a soundtrack for your story. He thought, why not? He gave it a shot–and it worked! He was so thrilled with the number of pages he wrote that day, he had to email me immediately.
How do you make a soundtrack for a story? Moreover, why would anyone want to?
It works like this. We all know about movie soundtracks. They are intended to augment the emotional and visual sensations we experience while watching a film. The music behind the action also blocks out reminders in our heads of the outside world–the nagging ache in our neck, the to-do list, worries about our day job. Movie music puts us in the mood to enjoy a love scene, join in a chase across the desert, soar in a glider beneath a star-filled sky, or cringe at the sound of cannon fire during a heated battle.
Writing our stories, we work most effectively when we’re fully focused on the scenes we must develop to make the story come alive for readers. We can create intense focus, similar to our experience when watching a movie, by providing background music that draws us into our tale and blocks out everything else. Here’s how I do it…
I grab my noise-reduction earphones (my choice is Bose, the honking-big ones that fit around the ears, but any good kind will do). I plug into my phone, where my music is stored. I select one album that will run for at least 1 hour–90 minutes is even better. For me, it will be classical, instrumental (no voices/lyrics). This one album will be my soundtrack for this particular book that I’m writing.
If you prefer, you can create a mix of different songs you’ve selected from various sources. The important thing is–once you have made this your track for that particular writing project, you will never change it. Every time you sit down to write, you will clip on the earphones and boot up the same soundtrack.
Why not vary your music choices from day to day? Because you’re not listening for fun. You’re training your brain. After you’ve written to this music two or three times, your fingers begin to itch for the keyboard as soon as you turn on your earphones. It’s quite magical, really! You sit down to write. You bring up your book file, cue the music…and you are in the story and typing!
Some of my students have come up with variations that work best for them. One writer told me she uses Gregorian chants. Another prefers soothing sounds of nature–rushing streams, gentle rainfall, insects chirping. Stephen King, I hear, writes to classic rock. When I’m writing historical fiction, I sometimes select music that was written during that era.
Try any variation of sound-tracking your work-in-progress. Then let me know how it works for you.
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I’ll send you creative writers’ tips, news, and inspiration three or four times a year. And, please, keep in touch and let me know how your writing is going. Make my day with news of your work-in-progress, recent publication, or exciting writing experience!