Music Monday: Character Playlists

Hey aces! It's time for music again- so pump up the volume! Yes, I did just use that archaic phrase, but I am cool enough to make it swaggerific again. So, last week I talked about tips on using music in your writing and included a list. In that list, I told you all to make playlists for your characters in order to help you better understand that character's voice and write their scenes. Therefore, I thought I would give an example of playlists for a few literary characters that we all might know. Ready for it! Here we go!

Bella's Playlist (Twilight)

1. Obsessed-Mariah Carey (Song to Jacob :) )
   
2. Crush- Jennifer Paige
3. Bubbly- Colbie Callat
4. '03 Bonnie and Clyde- Jay-Z feat. Beyonce
   
5. The Only Exception- Paramore
6. Clumsy- Fergie
7. All Around Me-Flyleaf
   
8. Crush on You- Lil' Kim feat. Lil' Cease
9. 3- Britney Spears (Ha ha!)
   
10. My Life Would Suck Without You- Kelly Clarkson
    

Melinda's Playlist (Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson)

1. Don't Speak- No Doubt
2. More than Words- Frankie J (originally written/recorded by the rock band Extreme)
3. Another Brick in the Wall- Korn (originally by Pink Floyd)
4. Talk Show on Mute- Incubus
5. Enjoy the Silence- Depeche Mode (Re-makes by HIM and Tori Amos)
6. Numb-Linkin Park
7. Drop the World- Lil' Wayne feat. Eminem
   
8. Our Lips are Sealed- The Go-Go's
   
9. Silence- Portishead
10. Cleaning out my Closet-Eminem
    

Micha's Playlist (Liar by Justine Larbalestier)

1. Liar-Rollins Band

That's the only song for this one because I wanted to expose you all to this rare, precious jewel of a song- please check out the link. My cuz Pam can vouch for the beautiful-ness that this song possesses :)



Can you think of any literary characters whose playlist you would like to create?

Musting Advice

My title sounds like this post is going to be about how to get yourself musty- what I attempted to do was a mash up of music and writing...bad idea- noted.

Anyway, the weekend drained me! I feel like a zombie robot- hey, has anyone written a book about zombie robots yet? Wouldn't that be badass???

Anyway, I always have energy for my aces, so I'm back on Music Monday to discuss the beautiful relationship of music and writing. I was doing some research on how many other blogs/sites out there discuss the use of music in writing and I stumbled upon this jewel of an article. Here, ginettewk12 (her username) discusses how you can best use music when working on fiction. She outlines steps in order to get the most out of music. I am going to do my own variation on her list! Feel free to check out hers to linked above by the word- jewel :)

Getting the most out of music when writing:

1. Turn on your music, be it iTunes, Rhapsody, or an old fashioned stereo (cough- loser-cough).
2. Whatever song is on, listen to the music/lyrics- what are they telling you? Is it a bad pop song that is begging to sound like Britney Spears about being "tamed?" OR is it is a rap song talking about picking up the entire earth and placing it on someone head? Whatever it is about- use it! Take those lyrics and think about writing your characters into those situations. What would your teenaged protagonist be like if they were locked in a cage and needed to get out, or if they were so frustrated that they wanted to attempt to cause bodily harm to someone?
3. If you are using iTunes or something like it, create a playlist that fits the mood of your novel. Let the songs play as you type and allow the music and lyrics to determine what decision your character is going to make, or where the next scene will take place
4. Create playlists for each of your characters- if they have key parts in the novel and you want to create a distinct voice for each of them- make a playlist that seems like would be on their iPod and play it whenever you are writing scenes or dialogue for that character
5. FINALLY- Repeat all of the above. If you play this music over and over each time you write- yes, you will grow to hate the song, but it will get you used to writing on a regular basis.

Okay- that's it for my musting words of wisdom. What do you think about these 5 points of advice?

Also, go check out a contest from recently signed Frankie Diane Mallis- she just signed with Laura Rennert from Andrea Brown Literary Agency and she is giving away something uber cool if you're a fan of the Hunger Games trilogy. Why are you still here? Wait! Comment on my blog first and then go check out the contest- and make sure you tell her I referred you!!!!

Music Monday: Book Scores!

What's up aces???? So, I went to see A Nightmare on Elm Street this past Friday ( I told you guys I was going!!!!) and it was exactly what I expected- suspense, drama, a REALLY scary part here and there, and a killer score.
This got me thinking...if my book could have a musical score, what would it sound like? I know that some people make book trailers and I can only assume they use some type of music during the trailer, but I'm thinking more along the lines of an actual song/score that I would hear while reading my novel.

Of course my POS Chasing Manson is heavily influenced by 60/70s music so it's easy for me to think of several songs while I am re-reading and re-writing. However, I am talking about an OVERALL song/score. Now that I think about it, I am sure it would be "Riders on the Storm" from the Doors. It might even be an instrumental version- but the lyrics/music of this song are haunting enough to the be the theme song of my novel.





What about you? If you had to choose a song or score that embodies your novel(s), what would it be?

BTW- Casey McCormick is giving away a really cool prize on her blog- go check it out!

Who Else Uses Playlists???

Man- is it just me or are Monday's awful??? It can be because I work in education and the weekend is never long enough, or it can be because I wish I was able to stay home and work on my POS, and my two WIPs.

Anyway, today is music Monday, and my wonderful cuz gave me a pretty good idea. I have already talked about how I use music with my writing, and a few of you have agreed, so what she suggested is that I find authors that discuss their play lists that they use for writing and share them with the rest of you! So, here is a look at a few authors that do this:

• Stephenie Meyer (author of the Twilight series- duh!) boasts about her use of playlists- even including her playlists on her website. She often listens to bands like Coldplay, Muse, My Chemical Romance, and Blue October.

• Maggie Stiefvater (author of Shiver and Lament) discusses how she uses music while writing at her blog. She uses music to help her focus (it helps me too!) to help find the mood in her writing, and also to help her with character development.

• Stephen King (you BETTER know who he is) has been said to listen to Metallica while he writes.
• Douglass Clegg, (author of Neverland) listens to movie soundtracks with no lyrics, classical music, or French/Spanish music.

Do you know of any that I have left off??? If so, please share with the rest of us writers who are also music lovers :)