As
emotional creatures (unlike, say, the Weeping Angels), we are
influenced by music and, to some extent, driven by it. The argument
that a single artist or song can make a person commit bunnycide or
something else terrible is ridiculous—the capacity to commit
bunnycide is a preexisting condition—but it’s probably not so
ridiculous to state that some songs might put you “in the mood”
to pursue certain behaviors over others. If you are inclined to bang
your head, Pantera is far more likely to spark such behavior than the
musical stylings of James Taylor.
Looking
at it the other way, there are some behaviors I simply cannot
consider if certain songs are playing in the background. I cannot
wash dishes while listening to “Let’s Get It On,” for example.
It would ruin both dishwashing and getting it on for me.
Likewise,
my writing is influenced, for good or ill, by whatever music might be
playing in the background.
Typically
I’m fond of instrumentals because the words of lyrics can and do
impinge on my subconsciousness, replacing my normal word choice with
those of a wee skinny lad with obscenely tight pants. But once in a
while I rock the hell out because I need the aggression to write
fight scenes and make all the inside bits go ’splody and become red
chunky outside bits.
The
best example I can provide is what I do when I need to write a fight
scene. I’m not much of a fighter. Like, I can wrestle a marshmallow
into submission. Scrambled eggs don’t stand a chance with me. But
real dudes? I don’t want to think about it. Unless, of course, I’ve
got some heavy metal playing. Speed metal stuff. Megadeth,
DragonForce, that kind of thing. Play enough of that with the knob
turned up to 11 and you’ll pull out your hand-and-a-half bastard
sword and get medieval on someone. And if you don’t have any
medieval weapons handy, you’ll find yourself surfing the net
looking for double-bladed axes and drinking horns and maybe a nice
set of boiled leather armor.
Music
helps me tap the emotions I need my characters to feel—and so I
play it.
You can purchase Kevins books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Book Depository.
Kevins website~
on twitter
@kevinhearne
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