Writing Music

We have only fifteen days until the Big Write. It leads me to think about the music I will listen to while writing this year. Music is an important part of how I write; it allows me to cut off the world and focus my mind while the words pour out.

Last year I wrote for thirty days while listening to Transiberian Orchestra's Beethoven's Last Night. Strange and wonderful stuff, it is.

This year, I've got several favorites; I'm getting to be a huge fan of Blue Oktober (the rock group), Matchbox 20, and anything by Josh Groban. Fortunately, I have absolutely every piece of music I own on my iPod, so I'm sure I'll find something worthwhile to listen to. The cool thing about the iPod is that it can run for hours, and when the little Sony Fontopia headphones are in, I basically can't hear anything going on in the house or around me, and I can get some good writing done.

One song that I keep hearing in my head is Tasha Bettingfield's The Rest is Still Unwritten. I know, it's a song about self-improvement, but the lyrics speak to a writer, too. When I sit down to write, the rest is still unwritten, and if I just open the window and look out, I'll get all the inspiration I need to put my story on paper.