Margaret’s Sunday Quickie – soundtrack to writing

I don’t really have much in the way of a writing soundtrack, because I often don’t notice music when I’m at the computer. I prefer having it on, but unless a particular song is outstandingly annoying or completely at odds with what I’m working on (e.g., “I Feel Fantastic” when I’m writing a death scene, Finntroll during a love scene), then I don’t notice it.

This means that I’m not safe to be around when I’m working, because I will not notice that iTunes has gone from the “safe” playlists to the “uploaded this and can’t remember why” playlists.  I can be working away, blissfully unaware that William Shatner is singing “I Wanna Sex You Up” in the background, oblivious to the screams of those trapped in the same room with me.

What I do have is a plotting soundtrack, or a set of songs that just seem to fit the mood of whatever piece I’m working on. Sometimes they’re just in tune with the story, sometimes they’re more specific, sometimes they are the songs playing in the background of the trailer for the movie of the story in my brain. For Spiral Hunt, that meant a lot of Dropkick Murphys for obvious reasons, some Ashley MacIsaac, plus the occasional song that just seemed to fit.