Different characters, different music.

 

So last week I blogged about how I sometimes listen to music when I’m writing. I was brought up to study in silence, to work in silence, and I most often think that is the best way. But just lately, I’ve been experimenting with different kinds of music, and I have a new idea I’d like to share with you.

Susan, my first character, seems to like Emeli Sande.

Sheila my second character, seems to respond better to classical music, but then, she would – she’s a bit older than Susan though not necessarily any wiser.

Richard – I’m not sure what kind of music he likes, but I suspect that he would respond well to Bob Seger.

Lisa – being a busy, professional person with an over-developed work ethic seems to prefer the silence.

Simon – well, he’s probably into something soulful.

All of which I find unexpectedly intriguing and kind of touching. I hadn’t expected this, and shall probably find myself asking, in future, which music my characters would like to listen to and trying to respect that. Music is an important motivator to me, so I guess there is no reason why it shouldn’t also motivate my characters.

It must be rather similar to the way in which we associate different songs and types of music with different times in our lives. Concierto de Aranjuez and Rachmaninov’s second piano concerto take me right back to a time at University; in the same way, perhaps, in later years when I’m thinking of Susan, snatches of Emeli Sande’s songs will come back to me.

Thanks for reading.

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