Dancing With My Muse

There are two main reasons I listen to music when I write:

1. I find it incredibly inspiring.
2. It helps keep me focused.

I actually discovered the creative power of music by accident, at a point when I was using it strictly for its second purpose, keeping me focused. I was writing a romantic suspense at the time (which shall remain unread) and struggling with a car chase scene. The scene was slow and cumbersome and (dare I say it?) boring—all things a good car chase most definitely is not. As I wrestled with my words, it occurred to me that the music I was listening to was actually slowing down my very thought process. Bach’s violin concertos will do that.

In a stroke of what I still consider to be pure genius, I put in one of my husband’s CDs—I can’t even remember who the artist was anymore—and the scene practically wrote itself. I’d found the magic key.

That was twenty years ago, and I have never looked back. Now I’m constantly listening for new things on the radio that catch my attention and fit with the feel of my writing. Shazam is my favourite app on my iPhone. My playlist for the Grigori Legacy is an eclectic mix of artists and currently sits at 167 songs. And my muse is happily dancing away to all of them. 🙂

The ten latest additions to my playlist:

1. Life is Beautiful Sixx: A.M.
2. Coil Opeth
3. Hollow Point Sniper Hyperbole USS (Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker)
4. The Silver Lining Gold Leaves
5. Chalk Outline Three Days Grace
6. I’m Just Me Diamond Rings
7. Take It On Faith Matt Mays
8. Suffer Staind
9. Writing’s On the Wall The Tea Party
10. Poison Alice Cooper