Writing… Distraction. Distraction. Writer’s Block. Food (another distraction). More writer’s block. The seemingly continuing cycle of being a writer. I’ve found that listening to certain music helps cut down on the distractions, as I’m sure multiple others have. Here are some of the special songs and albums that have organized my thoughts and inspired me.
- All the Battlestar Galactica Soundtracks by Bear McCreary- He covers a wide range of styles in one series going from sci-fi, sometimes techno, to rural drumming and chanting, to calming piano. The soundtrack has some very rare instruments being used to give this diversity.
- Blue Foundation- This band is one of my top favorites in music, and not just for writing. Their album ‘Sweep of Days’ is sometimes hard to get used to, due to the flat, guttural voice chanting some of the songs (but, personally, those are my favorites). Regardless, all of their songs are very inspiring in some way, and even have their own little stories built in. I highly recommend anything by them.
- The Glitch Mob- If you don’t like techno, you may not find this helpful but, trust me, you would be missing out. Glitch Mob’s music can be extremely thought provoking. When I listen, I dream about epic battles, flying above a meadow and trailing my fingers along the grass. Somber moments between characters as they bloom into new people. My favorite songs are ‘Bad Wings’, ‘Our Demons’, and ‘Starve the Ego, Feed the Soul’.
- BABYMETAL- Sometimes I just want to headbang. I mean, really rock out to a song. Besides, that gets rid of writer’s block, right? Banging your head against a table? Hehe, if only. But BABYMETAL really does help. The fast paced drums make my thoughts and keystrokes speed up, covering a blank page with words. And the lyrics aren’t very distracting either because it’s in Japanese! The only exception is when they sing about chocolate, because, I mean, chocolate! I love Japanese heavy metal.
- Trifonic, The XX, anything on the Blue Foundation Radio on Pandora- I use this radio station often for writing. and I love the fact that you can tweak it to your liking. If you don’t have Pandora, you can go to http://www.pandora.com/ to make an account. I highly recommend it.
So there are my suggestions. I hope that this is helpful on your journey of being a writer. Sayounara writer’s block and distractions!