Listening to Albums While You Write: The lifeblood and pulse of your story

Some of the questions people ask me about writing are "How can you stay focused on one idea?" or "How can you write every night?"

The answer is routine, as it would be with any habit you are trying to pursue. One of the ways I make sure to write daily is to have a prescribed time to sit down at the computer and a set time I have to write. At least 20 minutes is what I do. Then, if I have an epiphany I can keep writing, and if I get a block I can tap out and say "at least I met my daily goal."

How do you get an idea? That's a whole other topic I covered here. 

The other thing I use is a soundtrack to write to. Here are the three albums that I used consistently in each of the books in the series.

The Soulkind Awakening:
I listened to "Divinities: 12 Dances with God" by Ian Anderson to help write this book. The length of the was my minimum amount of time I would commit to writing each day, which ended up being 47 minutes. It is a diverse album, containing different moods and tempos, and I have fond memories of it. Since I switched albums for the next two books, I hadn't listened to this one in a LONG time. When I popped the album on Amazon Music the other day, I was instantly transported to when I wrote the first book. Another house, another dog, another time.

This was the fuel for my first book!

The Shadow of the Soulkind:
I listened EXCLUSIVELY to Daft Punk's soundtrack to Tron: Legacy. I LOVE this soundtrack. Yes, it is electronic music, but also with orchestral parts to it. It is really something else. I wrote for years to this, and when I actually went and watched Tron: Legacy again, the soundtrack was so inviting and I knew the movie on another level. Some of my favorites are: "Adagio to Tron," for when I need an emotional boost, and "Fall," for when I had some action scenes I needed to hammer out. The whole soundtrack is amazing though and I could get lost in my story easily while listening.

Amazing! Synth/Orchestral/Awesomeness

The Soulkind Master:
Yes, I listened to the Tron: Legacy soundtrack again, but I also tag-teamed my writing with the soundtrack to Skyrim. This is one of my all-time favorite soundtracks. Yes, I love Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, but those are too iconic. They were almost distracting when I would write a scene. I couldn't think of my own story! But "Awake" is epic and dreamlike and paints a picture of adventure in my mind.

No, I didn't have the vinyl, but man that looks nice. Fus ro dah!

Do you have any albums you always listen to when you write? Share below!