Music in Writing

Nothing new today. This means I have received no rejections today which is a plus, but I've also received no nibbles on my queries today... which is... a neutral I guess. I've been thinking about the second book of my series and I'm in one of the most important phases... picking the soundtrack. I can't state enough how important the proper soundtrack is for a writing a book. The music sets the mood, the voice, the scene. If you've never written a book think of it like a movie in your mind. 

I frequently tell my wife that I think all fiction writers are at least a quarter crazy. I think most of that quarter is made up of schizophrenia  the characters become a part of you and live their lives inside your head. When I write I hear different voices for each of my characters and see them as distinct individuals. It can be a little disconcerting but it is rather fun.

Anyway back to the soundtrack. The first book has a soundtrack of 44 songs with the artists ranging from Rage Against the Machine to Dizzy Gillespie, System of a Down to ELO. Quite a spread and it came out well in the book. For the second one I only have three songs so far. "Paint it Black" by the Stones, "Moonlight Sonata" Beethoven of course, and "Back in Black" AC/DC. This is great and fits the mood I want but they are simply not enough. I need more and I don't know the proper songs yet. I have to wait for it to come to me... I don't like waiting, yet it seems as though a good portion of a writing career involves waiting. I'm waiting on the proper music to come to me so I can start the second book, I'm waiting on an agent to decide they like my query, then I'll get to wait to see if they like the manuscript, THEN I'll get to wait on them to sell it, and finally I'll get to wait on the book to actually be published. 

Look at that, my first two tips in pursuing a writing career. 

1. Always have the right music to embrace the spark of insanity that ignites a good story.

2. Be prepared to wait... a lot... a whole lot... like almost constantly... I warned you.