Music, writing, and mood.

When I write, I listen to music that fits the mood of what I am working on. It is a habit I got into back when I lived in a college dorm and had room mates that were living their lives in our shared space and thus used headphones in order to focus.

What I found was that the tempo of the music carried my fingers are a rate that fit the story, and tone carried a certain set of words from deep within my mind.

When writer's block rears its ugly head, I will often turn off the lights, queue up a list of songs that fit the mood of what I am trying to write, and simply lie on my back and listen to what the music is telling me.

Once I have the mood good and settled on my brain like so much silt, I start mucking about with the characters internally. I think about their breakfasts, how they feel about an issue, where they would like to go to lunch, and how they deal with a crisis all in the frame work of the emotion that I am trying to convey.

Often I will find that if a character is sufficiently developed, they will spring into action right away and I can get to work. If not, then this exercise forces me to explore characters that may be weaker than I had once thought.

So, I encourage you to find your method of pecking away at your world and characters so that they can stand up on their own and live the lives you want them to.