Most writers have “strange” habits when they write. One of the less strange ones is listening to music. I know many writers who do this, including myself. Some, however, find it distracting and prefer to work in silence.

For me it serves as “white noise” that helps me shut the rest of the world out and focus on crafting my story. I prefer to listen to music that has no lyrics because lyrics tend to pull me into the music and away from storytelling. Again, this isn’t true of every writer. I read in his book On Writing that Stephen King listens to ‘80s metal bands like AC/DC when he writes (which explains a lot). Regardless, that’s why I love listening to soundtracks, whether they be for films or video games. That’s music being used to supplement a story or in many cases tell a story. It helps keep my creative juices flowing. If it’s the right song, I can “hear” it playing in the background while my characters are performing their actions.

Heck, I’m listening to a few OC Remixes as I write this blog. 😛

I try to stick with soundtracks that befit the story I’m writing. My go-to albums for my writing of Hope’s War (the sequel to my first novel, Pandora’s Box) include the Tron: Legacy Soundtrack by Daft Punk, the Man of Steel Soundtrack by Hans Zimmer, and Mega Man X: Maverick Rising (a 5-disc album of Mega Man X video game remixes produced by OC Remix). All of these have strong science fiction themes and elicit emotions ranging from triumph to despair. They help get in touch with the characters so I know how to tell their stories (which makes me and other writers sound like schizophrenics, but that’s a topic for another day).

But sometimes songs have lyrics that fit beautifully with the story I’m writing. For Pandora’s Box I actually assembled an unofficial soundtrack for it (and even burned it to a CD to give to a writer friend). So far I’ve only found one song like that for Hope’s War: “Iridescent” by Linkin Park.

(Ignore the obvious Transformers tie-ins).

In fact, the first scene I ever conceived for the book—and one I’ve yet to write—came to me while I was listening to this song. Its melancholy hope inspired imagery both beautiful and terrifying. Another one of their songs, “Wretches and Kings,” inspired a chapter title in the book. Those are a few of the many reasons why “A Thousand Suns” is my favorite Linkin Park album (yes, I know that makes me weird). 😛

Do you like to listen to music while writing? If so, what genres and/or artists? Why those?