Turn it up!
09-12-2014, 09:57 PM
I know everyone's methods are different, but when I'm posting for a character I usually try to think like them. Each character has a different feel to them, a different way of thinking, and if I can get into their personality writing for them becomes natural and flows so much easier than when I try to force it. One of the ways I get a feel for a char is through music, so I have playlists devoted to some of my characters. Anyway, I'm curious, do any of you guys have similar "in the zone" methods? How about songs that seem to embody a character?
Let's see...right now I tend to bounce between Monster by Meg & Dia and Beast by Nico Vega for Valentine. Neither really embody him, but Monster fits his desperation for love and the growly way Beast is delivered makes for good angsty muse xD
Since she's actually a pretty serious individual, Warja doesn't really have a playlist of things I listen to while writing for her, but a song that I feel could be Warja's theme song is Straight West by Kasket Club. I like the carefree feel to it, and that words fit her desire for adventure and the ever present threat of settled living.
For Thor, who is gruff and brutish, and yet somehow a closet marshmallow, either Weapon of Choice by Fatboy Slim or Little Lion Man by Mufford and Sons will do depending on how I feel about him at the time. I use Weapon of Choice because, if you haven't seen it, the music video is priceless and funny and quirky all rolled into one. It amuses me each and every time I watch it, and puts me in a good mood. I use it whenever Thor amuses me. Little Lion Man is a bit different. The line "weep for yourself, my man, you'll never be what is in your heart" sums him up perfectly. Other lines are a bit reaching, but that one gets me every time.
Shtiya, gets things like Pennies From Heaven by Louis Prima, The Purple People Eater by Sheb Wooley and The Witch Doctor by David Seville because he's silly and optimistic, but he's so little that he doesn't really have a playlist yet or even a theme song.
Since Sindri just got a personality makeover and I haven't written with her since then she doesn't have a playlist, but I have found a couple of songs that make me think of her. Lights (bassnectar remix) by Ellie Goulding and Teardrop by Massive Attack both have lines in them that remind me of her but not enough to really be considered theme songs.
The others don't really have anything in particular, they tend to get generic muse songs, but you get the idea xD
Let's see...right now I tend to bounce between Monster by Meg & Dia and Beast by Nico Vega for Valentine. Neither really embody him, but Monster fits his desperation for love and the growly way Beast is delivered makes for good angsty muse xD
Since she's actually a pretty serious individual, Warja doesn't really have a playlist of things I listen to while writing for her, but a song that I feel could be Warja's theme song is Straight West by Kasket Club. I like the carefree feel to it, and that words fit her desire for adventure and the ever present threat of settled living.
For Thor, who is gruff and brutish, and yet somehow a closet marshmallow, either Weapon of Choice by Fatboy Slim or Little Lion Man by Mufford and Sons will do depending on how I feel about him at the time. I use Weapon of Choice because, if you haven't seen it, the music video is priceless and funny and quirky all rolled into one. It amuses me each and every time I watch it, and puts me in a good mood. I use it whenever Thor amuses me. Little Lion Man is a bit different. The line "weep for yourself, my man, you'll never be what is in your heart" sums him up perfectly. Other lines are a bit reaching, but that one gets me every time.
Shtiya, gets things like Pennies From Heaven by Louis Prima, The Purple People Eater by Sheb Wooley and The Witch Doctor by David Seville because he's silly and optimistic, but he's so little that he doesn't really have a playlist yet or even a theme song.
Since Sindri just got a personality makeover and I haven't written with her since then she doesn't have a playlist, but I have found a couple of songs that make me think of her. Lights (bassnectar remix) by Ellie Goulding and Teardrop by Massive Attack both have lines in them that remind me of her but not enough to really be considered theme songs.
The others don't really have anything in particular, they tend to get generic muse songs, but you get the idea xD
NOTE: Valentine has a female striped skunk companion named Lefty. Unless stated otherwise assume she's present.