Hullo, world! 

My name is S. J. Barnard, a fellow blogger and aspiring author with a penchant to tea drinking. I’m greatly honoured to be able to do this collab with Brooke! Thank you, Brooke. :) I was super excited when her first book came out, and am desperately saving up to buy an actual paper copy. Because, as writers, we’re all kind of broke. (Or maybe that’s just me with the long list of books to buy.)

Today, I wanted to talk about My 5 WIP Playlist (And How It Helped Me Write More). 

I know, that sounds suspiciously long and rather ominous, but bear with me. This is the proven method a human being can write 20K in a day. 

NOTE: READ MORE ABOUT MY WIP HERE

1. WIP: LAPIS LYMRK (Juliet 1100th)

[Mostly composed of dark classical pieces and Vocaloid. Super dark.]

With that warning out of the way, let me lay the background to when I created this playlist. 

It was the last day of NaNoWriMo. I stared at the stats which gave me another 20K of gruesome word-regurgitation. It’s impossible, I lamented. I would not finish writing 50K. 

Enter Playlist. 

And the rest, you know, is history. 

Okay, that is a bit dramatic, but that’s basically how I came up with this playlist. I had been stuck in my NaNo WIP halfway in, and the days kept passing by while I stared at the blank page. It’s more than enough to want to create this dark playlist. Also, the story itself was rather morbid. 

2. WIP: WOODSTONE ABBEY

[Mostly Lo-fi and ballet music. Warm and ambivalent]

I created this playlist for this year’s Camp NaNo project, Woodstone Abbey. From my previous success with Juliet, I knew that a playlist would help me write words no matter what. Plus, I was pantsing for the first time, which is an occasion to be greatly nervous about as a planner. 

I did write words. At 90-something-K, I don’t think I’ve ever written so many words easily. 

But at the same time, it’s so different from writing quality words. Even though it’s quite lengthy, I only reached the first turning point of the book, which is shocking compared to the words I’ve written. I know I have to go back and ruthlessly cut down the mass of words I’ve acquired in this book and keep going.

3. WIP: Elektriem

[Mostly piano covers of Vocaloid or soundtracks. Some lo-fi, planning to add more Hillsong &c.]

This is actually the playlist that’s not as accurate to the entire mood of the story since I reworked the storyline and characters. However, I’ve been adding different pieces to the playlist to round it out. 

I think one of the most important things a playlist does it that it sets the mood for your story. Of course, it acts as a sound blocker and drowns out your deranged siblings screaming in the background, but that’s not the only thing. The main thing about the WIP playlist is that it helps you concentrate on your story’s world. As such, I make sure that the music matches the story’s entire mood. 

It might start with upbeat pop music, then transition into more serious instrumental music. Or soundtracks. Whatever it is, capturing the story with music is another vital process in defining your story. 

4. WIP: Elijacomb 17

[Classical only. Some piano pieces, mostly viola]

This is my current WIP, and I’m loving the change of scenery in music so far. As the main character is a child violist prodigy, I’ve decided to keep the playlist strictly classical or piano pieces. Really, writing a book to viola pieces (as a violist myself) is pretty satisfying. 

And now that I think about it, I don’t really add songs with lyrics in them as much. I think I’ve tried it before, but it tends to get distracting...You know, you’re kind of talking to yourself as you’re writing, and then there’s someone singing in the background. It kind of reminds you of siblings and background noisesTM. 

But again, that’s also kind of depends on your preference and the book’s mood. 

5. mood. soft-intense

[soundtracks]

This is my universal playlist. I use this for studying, writing, and everything in between. I’m probably going to add more pieces as I go along, but I try to keep a wider variety so that I can pick and choose as is fitting to the task I’m doing. 

Either way, I like to have music as a concentration barrier around me when I’m working. It also acts as a time-tracker of sorts since you would have some idea of how many songs have past since you’ve started. 

Summary:

In short, my WIP helps me write  more words in the following cycle:

It sets the mood for the story

It creates a barrier of concentration around me

It acts as a time-tracker

And that’s basically why (or at least I think it is) I can write more words when listening to music. By taking some time to set the mood of the story with music, it’s easier to get into your “zone” and tackle your WIP. 

So whether you’re a lisztomaniac like me, or not really a musician at all, it’s a good idea to start compiling a playlist for your WIPs the next time you’re stuck. 

That’s it for now. Thank you, Brooke, for having me!

What did you think? Do you enjoy listening to music while writing? Or do you already have a  playlist dedicated for your WIPs? Better yet, have you ever written an insane amount of words in a short span of time? Let me know in the comments below; I’d love to chat with you!