The Writerly Life Vol. 1: Music ♬

Hello, hello! :D

Before I share my January Favorites with you all, here is entry number one of a new series of blog posts that I have entitled The Writerly Life.  In these blog posts (which are inevitably destined to be quite random and sporadic), I will be discussing the many different ways (the method to my madness, so to speak!) in which I glean inspiration from the world around me.  I was also be sharing various writerly thoughts and experiences.  I hope everyone will enjoy these posts, and that you will be able to glean something of value from what I write!

Now then.  It is a well-known fact that every respectable writer has a set playlist composed (no pun intended) of favorite inspirational and motivational songs.  She listens to this playlist while she writes, because silence is innerving and because music is just beautiful! ♥

…Well.  That’s just me, anyway.  All of you who know me personally know that music is a crucial aspect of my life, not only as a writer, but as a person in general.

I prefer to listen to relatively calm, yet exuberant, and harmonious music while I write.  Songs like this are tranquil enough so that I can easily think while listening to them, but are also exciting enough to get my creative flow flowing.  Harmony is absolutely essential.  I simply can’t listen to any heavily synchronized, auto-tuned, and/or synthetic sound while writing.  So annoying and distracting!

On that note, I don’t usually listen to songs with lyrics when I’m writing.  The literary nerd side of me tends to kick in and suddenly I start explicating the lyrics and then…yeah.  I end up writing other things besides what I sat down to write! ^^; I have a bad habit of being counter-productive.

That’s where I’ve found k-pop to be quite handy.  I’m in love with the human voice (particularly warm tenor voices, i.e., Kyuhyun’s), so sometimes I simply must listen to a song with lyrics, and the milder k-pop stuff (such as Super Junior’s more vocal songs) has proven to be perfect for me.  Because let’s face it, I don’t speak Korean, so the lyrics can’t distract me in themselves. 

Also, epic movie soundtracks can and do certainly inspire epic book scenes!

Of course, what I’m listening to generally does depend on what kind of scene I’m writing.  It wouldn’t make much sense to listen to Romance in the Air while writing a scene about a character’s death, for example. X)

So for the purposes of this blog post, I have put together two, 20-track playlists (songs are not in any particular order)—one instrumental and one with vocals—of my favorite, all-purpose writing songs as of February 3^rd, 2014. ☆ Just click on the song titles if you want to listen to them on YouTube! ^_^

Enjoy~!  I hope that you find something that inspires you.

♪ Instrumental Playlist ♫

Song of Storms from SUPER SMASH BROS. BRAWL

Romance in the Air from THE LEGEND OF ZELDA

Ocarina of Time Medley from SUPER SMASH BROS. BRAWL

Spirit Temple from THE LEGEND OF ZELDA

Gerudo Valley from THE LEGEND OF ZELDA

He’s a Pirate from PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN

Immortal by Thomas Bergersen

Kiss the Rain by Yiruma

Wind Queen by Two Steps from Hell

Never Winter by Two Steps from Hell

Love and Loss by Two Steps from Hell

Archangel by Two Steps from Hell

The Saltwater Room (Owl City) by Piano Tributes

Kingdom Dance from Disney’s TANGLED

Autumn (Full Movement) by Vivaldi

Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven

Symphony No. 5 in C Minor by Beethoven

Affections Touching Across Time from INUYASHA

Song of the Caged Bird by Lindsey Stirling

Crystallize by Lindsey Stirling

♪ Vocal Playlist ♫

Evenstar from THE LORD OF THE RINGS

My Kantele by Loituma

A Day by Super Junior

Andante by Super Junior

Storm by Super Junior

Hanamizuki by Super Junior-K.R.Y.

Bittersweet by Super Junior

Daydream by Super Junior

Fuzzy Blue Lights by Owl City

Iridescent by Linkin Park

I See the Light from Disney’s TANGLED

Siulil A Run by Celtic Woman

Tha Mo Ghaol Air Àird A' Chuain from Disney’s BRAVE

Never-Ending Road by Loreena McKennitt

Caravanserai by Loreena McKennitt

Memories by Within Temptation

I Dreamed a Dream from LES MISERABLÉS (2012)

Sakura by Ikimono Gakari

Clarity by Zedd ft. Foxes

Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls