So nice to hear from a fellow writer who does this, too. There are times when the literary phrases I write feel much like the musical phrases I compose—there’s rhythm and meter to them, even a kind of cadence.
In another thread, a fellow writer is wondering about the length of the paragraphs of a first novel. I have been puzzling about how to answer because, for me, it’s a sense of musicality that determines length for me. I have doubted it would be useful to suggest such an approach, and even if I were to try, I wouldn’t know how to explain it–even to a musician. Plus, I’m a new novelist; I shouldn’t be giving fiction-writing advice.
Back to the subject of the thread, my fantasy novel series is set in a musical/magical world, and I’m also composing the music for it. I sometimes will listen to some of the music I’ve composed for the novel to get me in the mood. Since I’ve composed the music, I really don’t have to play it at my piano or via the recorded version; I can just hear it in my head. Still, now and again, I will play a recorded version rather loudly through my studio speakers before writing. Here’s a sign that hangs in my studio, to remind me to wear headphones when the neighbors are home:
With apologies to those who’ve endured my posting of this before, here’s the main theme sketch I composed. This is the one I most often listen to to get me in the right frame of mind to write:
There is no need to keep playing it or any other music while I write, though. My head is filled with music pretty much constantly, and that is more than enough for me.