Music, the Soul Healer of a Writer

by Ofelia Montelongo

If music be the food of love, play on.
— William Shakespeare

As writers, we all have different types of concentration and inspirational techniques. One effective technique is listening to the right music. Some people prefer a quiet environment when they are writing, while others are moved by the sound of melodies and rhythms of music.

Music is trapped by our souls and lets us move our typing fingers, and as a result they create inspiring words. However, sometimes writers spend an important amount of time finding the perfect place or the perfect atmosphere, instead of actually writing.

Pandora and YouTube have made life easier for writers with their stations that program and play music similar to that which you originally selected. But what music should we choose for different types of scenes?

For those writers inspired by music who struggle to find the right tunes, here are some suggestions to set you in the right writing mood.

Type of Scene	Pandora/YouTube Station	About
Accomplished (content, happy)	“Someone to Love” by Queen	Even though this song is not about an accomplished person, the sentiment and melodiousness within create a content rhythm.
Action (i.e. fights)	The Ramones or Limp Bizkit	Loud and straightforward punk rock band and aggressive nu metal style music.
Broken heart	“One” by U2	Bono has the right voice to make you tear up the whole night.
Drama	Enya	Her voice-layering technique will make you fall into a gloomy mood.
Flashbacks	Plain White T’s	Their famous song “Hey There Delilah” is a melancholic melody that will make you hanker those old moments again.
Funny/Comic	Taylor Swift or Lilly Allen	Both young women will spark your writing and let you humming their songs.
Party	David Guetta or LMFAO	Their music is bumpy and will make you dance on your seat.
Pursuit (i.e. car chase)	“Song 2” by Blur	Indie-Alternative Rock band.
Random scenes	“Wonderwall” by Oasis	This song has the right rhythm to make feel you are walking with confidence and in direction of your right objective.
Revelation	“Walking After You” by Foo Fighters	Most of Foo Fighters songs are fast pace and rock style, but the one suggested is a slow pace song that was used for the X Files movie.
Romantic	James Blunt or “I Never Told You” by Colbie Caillat	Calm and acoustic-like songs.
Trip to a different country	Julieta Venegas	Julieta Venegas is a pop rock Mexican singer who uses guitar and accordion.
Unexpected situations	Beck	This multi-instrumental artist has the right combination of ironic lyrics and alternative-indie.
Wedding	“A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri	This is the song played on Bella and Edward’s wedding (yes, the Twilight movie), but Christina is extremely inspiring.

These suggestions will, of course, vary depending on your aural taste. However, it is a good start to set up your music stations and stop worrying about what song will come up next to inspire you.

Happy listening and happy writing!

Where words fail, music speaks.
— Hans Christian Andersen

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Need to know how to set up a Pandora station?

1. Visit: Pandora.com.
2. You will be required to register and set up an account. It’s free.
3. You will be prompted to create a station. Do this by simply typing the name of an artist or song you like. If you are not prompted to create your station, the option to create a station should be on your upper left.
4. Once you create your station, enjoy your music! You can create as many stations as you want and they will be saved forever!

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Ofelia Montelongo is an aspiring published author. She is writing her first novel, Pilgrims or Something Like That. Originally from Mexico, she has a Bachelor’s in accounting and finance and an MBA. She is currently working on her Bachelor’s in English and Creative Writing. Ofelia is also a freelance photographer and has her own business in Scottsdale (Chocolate Tour of Scottsdale). Read more at Writing My First Novel. eMail Ofellia here or “like” her on Facebook.