June of Doom & Gloom - Week 2 discussion and etc. post

[huinare]

Welcome to the second week of this thing!

How is everyone doing? Discussion, writers' angst, other stuff? Put it in this thread!

Also, discussion topic: Do you have music you're using or plan to use as inspiration for your stories or mood music during your writing process? This question extends to anyone, whether you are participating in the challenge or no: What are some songs, or types of music, that get you in the right mood for writing sorrowful or doomful fiction (or making art of the same nature)? Links or lyrics welcome!

Comments

[independence1776]

I wrote the first draft!

As for music: I have a playlist consisting of three Enya songs that I generally listen to, no matter the mood or tone of what I'm working on. I've listened to them for so long as my writing music that it's basically background noise. However, my dark AU (which I'm not working on for this) I get in the mood for by listening to Blind Guardian's "Noldor (Dead Winter Reigns)."

[samtyr.livejournal.com]

Still busy tapping away... we'll see what happens.

I have some 'newer' music (2000 +) that I listen to, usually looking up fanvids on Y-T. But most of what I listen to is *old* (1970 is about the latest I listen to, tbh.

Sometimes the right movie helps *if* I can find one but that can be really dicey and it can be too distracting.

[zdenka]

-I made three or four false starts on a scene in the new plotbunny, none of which worked, and now I'm thinking I should leave it out altogether.

I've also been trying to work on thematically appropriate WIPs:
-I made significant progress on a Numenor-related fic I started last November and had stalled on, and now I'm tentatively hopeful that I'll have a finished draft by the end of the month. It's weirdly philosophical and I'm not sure how much sense it makes, but I would be very pleased if I could at least get it finished beginning to end with no gaps.

-I dug out a file that is trying to be an interrelated set of drabbles and poked at them a little more. I keep dithering over whether I should post what I have or wait till there are more of them. And also I can't think of a non-stupid title.

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

I love music, but I need near silence to write in.I fear since getting Harry my Muses have been mostly hiding.

[hhimring]

Progress is slow. Maitimo has said farewell to Curumo and is climbing the stairs. Really exciting stuff!

I have no music specially for writing gloomy things, although my taste in writing music generally veers towards the melancholy.

[engarian.livejournal.com]

I wrote a paragraph while I was on vacation, but I have a long way yet to go. It's funny that you talk about music. Music is a central theme of my tale, but because of the spin I'm putting on it, I can't actually listen to much of anything while I'm writing this. That's a bit of a bummer because sometimes music is just the key.

Actually...Memento ( http://remyvankesteren.nl/ )might pull the trick here. He has a few tracks that are a bit bizarre for harp playing, and it might just work. I'll try tonight if I can clear up some of my pile of emails.

- Erulisse (one L)

[ladybrooke]

I'm attempting to figure out what to write. *flail* It's going about as expected...it might have to wait until "I Survived First Age Beleriand" is over, because trying to figure out what to write for Gil-galad, Elros, and Elrond is painful.

Strangely, pop makes it easier for me to write sorrowful and doomful fiction. I think it's because if I listen to sad stuff, it puts me into a real life funk, and then I don't write. :P No links, since I'm not sure anyone needs a link to that type of music.

[zdenka]

I find that music helps me concentrate, so I usually have background music playing when I'm working or writing. For story inspiration, I try to find something that feels like it fits the mood and sometimes things with appropriate imagery in the lyrics. (Though fiddling around with playlists can turn into a way to procrastinate if I'm nervous about starting.) My playlists are mostly sorted by mood anyway, rather than by genre or decade or anything else. I have a "tragedy" playlist for music which is kind of despairing and dramatic and defiant, which seems relevant to this exercise. :)

I was thinking about posting links, but no one else has, and I'm self-conscious about my odd musical tastes.

[wheelrider.livejournal.com]

Hm. I hadn't had a good idea for June of Doom and Gloom story (except for something... really bizarre and graphically sexual...? Where the hell did that come from?) but I have LOTS of gloomy music suggestions! :D

Actually, I've had a draft post about this subject stewing in my brain for a while... a list of all the black and death metal bands that take their names from the Tolkien legendarium, plus some other music that would be of the sort I'd expect the darker characters to enjoy. I'll just leave one of the latter here: