Camp Nanowrimo feels way too close, but it is definitely coming up on us and will be here in a little over a week! I am really excited but also not entirely certain how everything is going to work out for me. I prepare but there always will be something that will end up catching me off guard.
Today, I am going to talk about preparing playlists and other things to listen to throughout the month. For me personally, this is an incredibly valuable use of my time because I need to be able to have this stuff done and ready to go.
Currently, I've been listening to a lot of 90s and 00s Pop Rocks and while some of those songs do not exactly fit with the other songs I feel suit my story perfectly, I plan on incorporating them anyway. I am always surprised at what I end up drawing inspiration from and having a variety of songs always ends up helping me out.
So include songs. When you think about your plot and characters, what music would they listen to? What tells their story? I definitely would only stick with songs that you like or at least kind of enjoy because you might end up listening to this playlist a lot more often then you would initially think.
After this, seriously, just start adding songs that you've really been into. Add sad songs. Add energetic songs. I personally always include a few 80s disco hits that when I get to them in the playlist either motivate me or make for an awesome dance break. I also always include My Shot from Hamilton because that song always gets me hyped up and try to write as many words as I can.
One thing I really like about spotify is that after you run through the songs on your list, it will play radio based on this, which not only helps narrow down your aesthetic but also helps to get more songs in there. It even introduced me to some artists that you really like now. Fair warning: if you have more than five-ish songs that are Disney or by the same artists, it will literally corrupt your playlist to just be this.
I need to work on my playlist some more, but here are links to my previous Nanowrimo playlists here and here and also my currently working one. I love listening to these on shuffle. I know people have
other preferences than spotify, but spotify has never let me down in making my own playlist. Let me know if you have any suggestions for your own preferences.
When making a playlist, remember that you do not have to get everything finished in one go. You have the time.
I also love soundtracks to writing to. Video game soundtracks are particularly fun if you might get distracting by the words, but I personally swear by the new Beauty and the Beast soundtrack and Finding Neverland soundtrack. There are a few other musicals based on my current mood, but I fully expect I will listen to both of these probably far too many times throughout the month.
Literally, basically I will listen to about anything and everything throughout the month. What are your listening preferences? Be sure to let me know in the comments what you think you'll find yourself listening to next month.
Camp Nanowrimo is just over a week away! If you need some help setting your goals, this might help. Trying to plan your novel in this last week? I have some advice here.
Thanks for reading and I'll be back next weekend with a checklist of things to try to finish before the month kicks off!
Alyssa
How I Make Playlists
I would like to say that I have everything clean and refined and perfectly suited for the mood of my book and honestly, I just can't do it. Do all of the songs on my playlists generally fit within an aesthetic? Yeah, sure. But honestly, that aesthetic typically changes and is refined as I continue to add songs.Currently, I've been listening to a lot of 90s and 00s Pop Rocks and while some of those songs do not exactly fit with the other songs I feel suit my story perfectly, I plan on incorporating them anyway. I am always surprised at what I end up drawing inspiration from and having a variety of songs always ends up helping me out.
So include songs. When you think about your plot and characters, what music would they listen to? What tells their story? I definitely would only stick with songs that you like or at least kind of enjoy because you might end up listening to this playlist a lot more often then you would initially think.
After this, seriously, just start adding songs that you've really been into. Add sad songs. Add energetic songs. I personally always include a few 80s disco hits that when I get to them in the playlist either motivate me or make for an awesome dance break. I also always include My Shot from Hamilton because that song always gets me hyped up and try to write as many words as I can.
One thing I really like about spotify is that after you run through the songs on your list, it will play radio based on this, which not only helps narrow down your aesthetic but also helps to get more songs in there. It even introduced me to some artists that you really like now. Fair warning: if you have more than five-ish songs that are Disney or by the same artists, it will literally corrupt your playlist to just be this.
I need to work on my playlist some more, but here are links to my previous Nanowrimo playlists here and here and also my currently working one. I love listening to these on shuffle. I know people have
When making a playlist, remember that you do not have to get everything finished in one go. You have the time.
Other Ways I Listen To Music
Literally, any music will do. One of my favorite music games, not just during Nano is to just search a song on youtube and let autoplay take over from there. Eventually it will start being the same type of songs over and over again but I always enjoy seeing where this is going to take me. Watching the videos is fun but counterproductive to getting words written so probably don't do that.I also love soundtracks to writing to. Video game soundtracks are particularly fun if you might get distracting by the words, but I personally swear by the new Beauty and the Beast soundtrack and Finding Neverland soundtrack. There are a few other musicals based on my current mood, but I fully expect I will listen to both of these probably far too many times throughout the month.
Literally, basically I will listen to about anything and everything throughout the month. What are your listening preferences? Be sure to let me know in the comments what you think you'll find yourself listening to next month.
Camp Nanowrimo is just over a week away! If you need some help setting your goals, this might help. Trying to plan your novel in this last week? I have some advice here.
Thanks for reading and I'll be back next weekend with a checklist of things to try to finish before the month kicks off!
Alyssa
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