Do I have a soundtrack to my life? Yes, most definitely, although I’m no music buff. The music I listen to is eclectic – aka undiscerning. Right now I’m listening to an odd combination of Coldplay, New Order and a down-tempo ambient compilation.
But here’s a curious thing: I cannot write without music on. It’s a physical impossibility. Often my best writing springs from music I’ve not heard before. It’s as if my brain reacts to a great new melody by firing on more cylinders.
So that ‘s the music which inspires the writing, but what about the music which lives within it?
Recently I was introduced to the English teaching videos of Philip Beadle. His idea is to get kids into language through music: there’s a beat and cadence to a beautifully punctuated sentence. Yes! And there’s definite rhyme and reason to good writing. If it flows it goes. If I can hear the beat in the language, I know it’s ok.
If I can’t, I edit and re-edit until I can.
