Tuesday, May 27, 2008

The Power of Music

I graduated from high school in 1974. (You do the math.) All through high school, I listened to The Beatles, The Monkees, Paul Revere and The Raiders, Bread, Bobby Sherman. (I had SUCH a crush on Bobby Sherman!) Yep, I was a pop music junkie. While most of my friends had their radios tuned to country music, I bebopped around my bedroom to The Partridge Family.


I've always loved music. Any job became easier if I could listen to music. When I started writing, music naturally went along with it. The type of music depends on what I'm writing. Sometimes I want to bebop along with those great 70s tunes. Sometimes a movie soundtrack will put me in the exact mood I need. Classical, rock, soft vocals...it all depends on the scene and the characters.

Imagine a funky bubblegum song playing instead of the "da dum da dum" you expect when the shark is in the water. Doesn't work at all, does it? It's the same with writing. The music has to be right or the mood is broken.

I write erotic romance. I have to really concentrate when I write a love scene for I want it to be right. I want the reader to feel everything my characters are feeling. Listening to songs with lyrics distracts me during those crucial scenes, so I turn to New Age instrumentals. The strings, harps, and flutes all go along with the sexy mood I'm trying to convey. "Da dum da dum" definitely wouldn't work while writing a love scene.

Does music play an important part in your life? Tell me about it.

Lynn LaFleur

4 comments:

Sally Painter said...

Hey Lynn,

Thank you for joining us today!

Music hallmarks all the major events in my life. If I hear an old favorite that triggers a memory, I'll get all teary-eyed and I'm instantly transported to that moment in time.

N.J.Walters said...

Music inspires my writing, but I can't have any music on at all when I'm actually writing.

Music is an important part of my life. Just hearing a certain song on the radio can take me right back to a certain time or place. It really is a touchstone.

Humans. Cats. Boat. said...

I actually wrote a scene yesterday (a fight scene...surprise eh?) to the Gladiator soundtrack. I was bouncing in my chair! Boom baby!

Usually, I have hard rock playing (Yahoo Music is great for that). So either it's Chester from Linkin Park screeching at the social injustices of the world or it's Trent Reznor snarling his loss and cynicism.

Love music!

And welcome to the Hussy blog, babe!

Nicole Austin said...

Music often inspires me but when I'm writing it has to be down low, more of a background noise, so I can concentrate.

Thanks for hanging out with us today, Lynn!