I always find it best to write with background music. Often in the past I have just listened to whatever I have been feeling like listening too. Over time however I discovered themes and styles that brought out different ways of viewing a certain situation in the text.

This grew into a format for me. The soundtrack to my book (or story). I like to assemble soundtracks before I begin writing my book so I can just wake up turn on whatever soundtrack I have assembled and listen to it as I am writing.

I generally try to organize it to very general types. For An End To All You Know, it is Positive, Negative, Fear Inducing, and Action. Since this book is such a strange one the positive songs are not like happy music always but rather something for positive scenes. Negative does not mean sad scenes either it is generally the feeling I want induced as Primina wanders the landscape that I have created.

The styles of music I like to use mix from a range but I like to use music I do not understand the lyrics to. The Neir OST is perfect for that because it literally has nonsense lyrics. Instrumentals also work to that end as well. Classical music is normally good too and fits any genre. However, if you have a style of story you want and you want a certain feeling for it, seek out music that gives you the images in mind you want.

For some scenes it may be white noise you want or some other kind of ambience. Maybe your scene requires Harsh Noise genre music, especially if it is a domestic abuse scene you are writing. Let’s face it if you write for Lifetime Channel or in the woman’s literature scene you are going to run into scenes like that. Though, I would imagine the majority of those writers have first hand knowledge and can refer to their own experiences for that. I gladly do not have any, and I plan to keep it that way. So I use music to bring about those experiences and I know I personally can see someones mind falling to pieces when I listen to that kind of jarring nonsense. So in that it has a purpose. Although anyone with sound mind would not listen to that ear cancer.

So don’t be afraid to listen to music you would never listen to otherwise to bring about certain emotions or instill images. I am relying on some mechanical ambient sounds for this book. Songs that are experimental with use of odd sounds. Soundtracks and artist like Silent Hill, Drakengard, Neir, Saya No Uta, False Wanderer, Shin Contra, Splatterhouse, わたしのココ, Motoro Faam, Arai Tasuku, Blue Gender, The Big O, Dead Can Dance and S Core.

So as you can see taking music from a variety of places makes for a full and rich supply of music to really play with those mind machines… I mean brain, workings. Though it is important not to live in those dreamlands. Lest you get caught up in a cosmic horror of your own creation and meet the Yellow King or some other elder thing.