I’ve always written to music. From the very beginning, it was Everything I Do by Bryan Adams. Lady Blackmyre loved NIN’s Closer. I swear that when the *right* song comes up for the story, I can write faster and deeper. The whole mood wraps around and inside my head with every musical word.
But I’ve never really used nature sounds or other “peaceful” tracks without words. Someone mentioned beaches and rain on Twitter the other day, and I was like, oh wow, there’s an app for that? Ha. Of course there is.
I’ve been needing some significant stress busters. While I sweat my backside off doing Power 90, I thought I might try something new too. There’s nothing quite like the sound of a thunderstorm, for example. I’m not so big on happily tweeting birds. Too much river and trickling water sounds make me have to pee. But the beach, yeah, that’s pretty nice. The nighttime sounds at the lake and forest are pretty cool too.
Then there was this one shamanic one I picked up and whoa, it’s so cool. It’s drums and crows, some eerie whispers in the background. I can’t wait to find the book that works for that music.
And yeah, I’m more peaceful. I listened to it so much today that my phone is almost dead. (Unless the monsters get a hold of it, my phone will usually last all day/night without needing a charge.)
Do you use white noise, nature sounds, etc.? Curious minds want to know!
Drums and crows? Man, I can’t wait for the story that goes with that!
When I’m writing I usually don’t have music on. That’s not to say music doesn’t inspire writing. I think some of that comes from the fact music almost always has to compete with the wee beasties.
A thunderstorm sounds perfect at the moment, maybe with some rain, something to cut the heat 😀
They have several thunderstorms to choose from: Thor, Odin, and Loki. Yeah, my kind of names!!
Yikes! Don’t suppose you have that one on an mp3 you can send me? I’d love to have something like that on one of my instrumental playlists!
I love writing to music. The right sound as I’m writing keeps me in The Zone. It’s like everytime I need to write that story, I turn that on and I’m right back in the thick of it. I’m trying to coordinate music themes with all my stories in hopes of generalizing this concept (right now, I’ve only paired up like three stories) because I know how well it works for you, Sis!
*hugs* For the stress, though. I love you, and I’m praying for it all to get better.
Unfortunately, Sis, I can’t. They’re locked inside the iPhone app itself. I got several free once I bought the app, but then each track after that varies in price. I could go hog wild and buy a dozen or so! Yikes. But they do sound cool!
Oh, here’s a funny.
After work today, I went in to change into my workout clothes. I bent over to pull my socks and shoes on, and I heard a weird sound. Like a cricket. But when I stood up, I couldn’t hear it any more. I thought, great, I have a cricket lost in my dresser!
Then I realized my phone was in my pants pocket and I’d forgotten the Nature app was still running. It was a nighttime lake track. Aha, crickets!
Ha! That’s awesome! Good thing it wasn’t something truly scary like crickets followed by a sudden grizzly bear roar or something like that. Heheh.
It is one of the great tragedies of my writing life that I cannot write to music. I’ve tried, and I just can’t. I really need quiet in order to concentrate. I live in the woods, so that’s usually quiet enough for me, but if there’s construction noises or chainsaws or something, I’ll turn on a fan to block it out.
I never thought to try writing to white noise or nature sounds. Great idea! I’ll have to try it.