Songs that Inspire - Linkspam

I was chatting with a blogging and critiquing buddy the other day. We were discussing the songs that help us or inspire our writing.

I tend to have YouTube running while I write. I call up a lot of my favorite songs and let them play as I sit and stare at the computer screen, trying to figure out what to write.

Here is a little taste of what helps me write.





Lyrics

First time I heard this song, this caught my attention;

You know the one thing you're fighting to hold
Will be the one thing you've got to let go
And when you feel the wall cannot be burned
You're gonna die to try what can't be done
Gonna stay stay out but you don't care
Now is there nothing like the inside of you anywhere?

Oh just take the fall
You're one of us
The spotlight is on
(Ahh ahh)
Oh the spotlight is on, yeah it's on


I instantly thought of Alyssa and the way she has to come to accept her new life.




This song just makes me think Vampire. LoL

Lyrics

And our appetite's careless and menacing
It humbles me
We breath softly on with it's predator
Such is a sight to see








I love Incubus. I have all of their albums. This song has such a primal and sensual feel to it. Great for writing romance scenes.

Lyrics

In my fantasy
You look good entwined
In my hair and skin and spit and sweat and spilled red wine
You're my deep secret
I'm your pantomime
I'll just move my hands
I promise You'll see what I mean








Pay no attention to the actual video, it's some x-men thing. It's the song that inspires. I couldn't find a link with the real video.

This is Santino's song

Lyrics

you're keeping in step
in the line
got your chin held high and you feel just fine
because you do
what you're told
but inside your heart it is black and it's hollow and it's cold

just how deep do you believe?
will you bite the hand that feeds?
will you chew until it bleeds?
can you get up off your knees?
are you brave enough to see?
do you want to change it?

what if this whole crusade's
a charade
and behind it all there's a price to be paid
for the blood
on which we dine
justified in the name of the holy and the divine







Lyrics

So don't let the world bring you down.
Not everyone here is that f ked up and cold.


If that doesn't help pull you up by your boot straps after a string of rejections, I don't know what will. =p




Lyrics



Lyrics

And you know that accidents can happen
And it's okay,
We all fall off the wagon sometimes
It's not your whole life
It's only one day
You haven't thrown everything away


This one makes me think of Alyssa's first accidental kill as a new vampire.

And finally....


This is the stuff my husband plays while I am trying to write... Watch at your own risk... Seriously. He made me link this here.




So now that I have linkspammed you with my inspirational playlist. Tell me, what songs work their magic on you?

15 comments:

Jessica Nelson said...

Okay, I don't know if my other comment went through.

I said it's interesting how you can write with music on. I'm not sure I could.

Are there supposed to be videos to go with the lyrics? I'm only seeing white boxes. Thanks for sharing though.

kah said...

I cant write with music (with lyrics) on. But it does inspire some of my scenes. Especially the emotions behind my characters. I even have a player at the bottom of my blog with songs from my mental soundtrack. :) Good selections!

B.J. Anderson said...

Hmmm. I don't know if my first comment went through. Oh well. :) Great post! And I listen to music while writing, but I can't while I'm editing.

Katie Salidas said...

Jessica, the white boxes should be YouTube links. I don't know why they aren't showing up. =(

Katie Salidas said...

Karen, I've heard others make that same comment. Maybe I am a weirdo, but I can write while singing along to my favorite songs. I just get an image in my head and I can type away.

Katie Salidas said...

Bj, That makes sense that you can write while listening to music but can't edit. Seems to me editing takes up quite a bit more concentration beacause you are hunting for things to fix.

Katie Salidas said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Deb said...

I prefer the sounds of silence when I’m writing. A timely thunderstorm can be very inspirational though.

JAlexander said...

I can see the videos now so you must have fixed them.

The lead singer from Incubus is really cute - or used to be anyway.

Q - we do have so much in common. Special jump drives, music, Catholic school nightmar... I mean memories (right? Catholic school)

I needed some inspiration for a biker bar dance scene I'm working on. Yes, I know, people do not dance at biker bars. I gathered up about five country music slow songs and played them while jotting down notes. Potential thoughts, body movements, crowd reaction, whispered words, etc... These songs all have lyrics so I couldn't write out the actual scene.

This part of the story is not written yet. I hope it turns out ok.

Jenna

Katie Salidas said...

Yeah Jenna, we are too alike. LoL.

I don't think I can help you with music for a biker bar scene. I'm not really sure what music they listen too. I know it sounds cheesy, but the only bar song I know well is that Garth Brooks one, Freinds in low places.

Katie Salidas said...

Strange fiction. I agree, a thunderstorm can work wonders too.

Robyn Campbell said...

I can't write with music on. It distracts me, because I start singing along with the music, which is a very bad idea since I can't carry a tune. I love to listen to Santanna though. Especially when doing other writerly stuff. Like character charts, etc.. Great post. I might try this one day to see if it helps me now that I've become more experienced at getting a novel done. Who knows? It might work for me now. To be continued.:)

Katie Salidas said...

I do most of my writing when the family is sleeping. They never get to hear my beautiful sing along. LoL.

Susan R. Mills said...

I love all types of music, but a lot of times I'm stuck listening to what my kids like. I guess it's a good thing I write YA. :)

eden tyler said...

I actually can't write with music. I can't have any other words in my mind. I can have movies on, and soundtracks, but not music that has great lyrics--I end up paying attention to the song instead.

While I'm editing, though, I can listen to music. And I do. Editing is cathartic for me, as is music. Editing comes naturally and takes less thought than writing. I'm a mind's eye writer, so I hear and see the scene and write as it plays out. I'm so focused on that and I don't want anything to take me out of that world.
In complete silence, I tend to write 12-1300 words in an hour. If I have music or a good movie on, or my kid's talking or the dogs are playing roughly, it'd probably drop to 250. Literally. (It's happened ;)

I think I'm the odd one....

About The Author

Katie Salidas is a USA Today bestselling author and RONE award winner known for her unique genre-blending style.

Since 2010 she's penned five bestselling book series: the Immortalis, Olde Town Pack, Little Werewolf, Chronicles of the Uprising, and the all-new Agents of A.S.S.E.T. series. As her not-so-secret alter ego, Rozlyn Sparks, she is a USA Today bestselling author of romance with a naughty side.

In her spare time Katie also produces and hosts a YouTube talk show; Spilling Ink. She also has a regular column on First Comics News where she explores writing from a nerdy perspective.