One of the suggestions that my mentor came back with in her first comments about finding your voice and getting really into your characters and their story, is to find a piece of music that truly suits what you’re writing—something to get your mental juices flowing.
The only thing is, I don’t even know where to start. I mean, I’ve got music, lots of it, that I find inspiring, but nothing that suits the piece. It’s set in Ontario at the turn of the century and there’s not a single song that screams: “This is your character! Pay attention to me.”
In my mind, the closest I’ve come is Neil Young’s “Helpless.” I wish I had a list of traditional Irish ballads, that might work, or even if I had an idea of what kind of music was popular in New York City at that time, I could find something that might keep the characters firmly entrenched in the period they’re supposed to be existing within.
So now, I’ve got to do some research on what I should probably find inspiring even before I get inspired to re-write the stories I’ve already recorded on the page.
When I write fiction (both my serious and “light” kind) I do use music for inspiration – but not necessarily music having to do with that particular era I’m writing about. It’s more music that I like, that gets my imagination going – it can be any kind.
Note – while the music may initially inspire me, I can’t actually listen to it while I’m writing. I find it too distracting.
Good luck!
Hmm, you could always check out largehearted boy’s book notes and see what other authors have done.
I’d get the soundtrack for Ric Burns New York documentary and the soundtrack for Ken Burns The Civil War documentary. They’re on period or close to it and would help I think.