Music

There is no attribution to the wise person who once said: "Music is what feelings sound like. "

I love that because I think that is a very true statement. Music affects us on an elemental level. We listen, and we "feel" particular emotions because of the music--anger, happiness, seduction, love, etc.

We associate certain feelings with the music we hear, but music also calls forth certain memories. If you are of a certain age, when you hear the Stones or Third Eye Blind or Josh Groban, you travel back in time to when you were younger and listened to that music regularly. You feel the emotions from that era. Music draws memories and emotions from us.

Backstory

I've been working with my new computer for almost 3 months now, but I haven't had the time to get my music set up on it.

You see, I write to music most times when I'm doing first draft copy, but not when I'm doing revisions and editing. There are some songs that just fit the story or perhaps the mood of a particular scene or characters so I often listen to a particular song over and over as I write. Drives my husband crazy.

All these weeks with my new computer, I've been trying to write without benefit of music. Suddenly, I began to wonder if that's why the "flow" just wasn't flowing.

Sure, I've had a lot of interruptions, complications, and emergencies since May which have resulted in delay after delay. Each time I would come back to my writing, I'd have great difficulty with connecting with the story and characters. Naturally, I started to think music might help.

Dumb Techno Dweeb

Bright person that I am, I decided to plug in my iPod, get the new computer authorized, and recover my music. Instead, I somehow wiped out the entire contents of my iPod. Fortunately, I have a backup of it, but I don't have the time to learn what to do to get it back on my new PC and iPod--and probably not the patience or know-how either. Honestly, after erasing it all one time, I'm scared to mess with it. I'll leave that for my DH to do.

Had To Have Music

Disgusted with that turn of events, I just grabbed every CD I could find and loaded them all on my computer, including my new Adele CD. At last, I had music. Guess what? The writing got easier. Call it habit or inspiration or mood music or whatever. I just know it helps my words flow.

Takeaway Truth

For me, writing something emotional means listening to what emotions sound like.