Thursday, May 6, 2010

The Cure for Writers Block---Music

If you're like me the juices don't always flow at the precise moment you need them. No we're not talking Viagra. (I saw you going there) I'm speaking of course about the mental juices we bring to the keyboard to create the greatest novel ever written.  Which by the way we're all trying to accomplish. Let's face it, no one's missing an episode of "30 Rock," to write a mediocre book.  So I'm here to tell you that music is the answer.  Whenever I get in that rut, I slip on the iPod and go for a run and listen to the words of the artist flowing over me. I can receive the same benefit while driving alone in the car. 

A great example of this was when I was searching for the ending to a touching scene in my novel, "A Touch of Deceit," where FBI agent Nick Bracco's wife has been shot by a terrorist and is recovering in her hospital bed. Bracco knows she'll never be the same again, especially if the assassin isn't found and arrested. Her eyes glisten as she implores her husband to track down the terrorist and put him away.  It sounds silly, but I struggled with his response.  "Bet on it," he sneered.  "It's done, Sweetie," he said with tight lips. You get the idea.  Everything sounded so canned.  Then, later that day, I'm listening to Coldplay in my car, the song, "Shiver," and I hear the lyrics, "Just you try and stop me."  Bingo. No it's not Walt Whitman, but it was precisely the emotion I was looking for--confident and cocky, giving his wife peace of mind.  Yes, I swiped an innocuous and common phrase from Chris Martin, but it served its purpose.

Believe it or not this can even work for instrumentals.  It's the rhythm and the emotion of the piece which can jump start that right side of your brain. Try it the next time you're juices need lubricating.

PS- There's an old Jules Shear song about a bitter breakup with the lyrics, "I've never seen the weapon, but I know the prints are mine."  Is that great or what? Feeling anything yet?            

58 comments:

  1. I'm with you, dude. When I'm brain locked I too feel like going out and shooting someone . . . Oops, maybe that's not what you mean, but your point is well taken. A lot of times the answer is not to sit staring at the screen but to get up and get away--go anywhere, do something different. Having a computer is different than having a spouse. You can rise abruptly from your computer and leave it without saying a word and it'll still be there when you get back; a wife, no so much.

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  2. I'm a huge abuser of Pandora when writer's block strikes.

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  6. I agree re: music helping. A few words of a song or even poetry can often inspire me to think of a different way to approach a scene. I often lie in bed at night with my iPod. I choose the first song I think of after reading my last written paragraph, then I set the iPod to "genius" where it selects similar songs. It then gets me going and inspires me to tap into all the senses. Not just what sounds do the characters hear, but also how bright is the sun? What colors do I think of when certain instruments are played and what colors do certain words have? (I'm synesthetic, but I assume this is something all creative types do to some extent.) Last night's mix of songs gave me a creative approach to a scene I've been struggling with for several days.

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