In this blog post, I want to write about the relationship between music and writing. Some people may believe that music and writing have no correlation what so ever and that may be how some people feel however, I don’t think that could be any more false. For me personally, music inspires me just as much as real-life experiences do, and I mean inspires me to do anything. I feel that the two things that allow you to express your emotions the most are music and writing, in whatever format that may be in. That means the two go hand in hand. Music tells a story in a million different ways, as you listen to the lyrics or even just the instrumental itself you subconsciously create a story thread in your mind that brings in thoughts and lets them go simultaneously. And this happens whether the song is literally telling a story or not. This is also applied on a larger scale when it comes to albums, especially when an artist synchronizes their songs in order or adds skits and more immersive details like that. Besides the fact that music is similar to fiction writing when it comes to storytelling, music also can inspire you with new ideas and bring you back to a specific memory. There are times when you can revisit a song and it will bring you back to a specific moment or moments in your life. This can cause you to remember things that you previously forgot, remember what you smelt at the time of the memory, what you felt, and more feelings. This incredible feeling of nostalgia can often inspire new ideas and thoughts moving forward in life. And since music and writing go hand and hand these ideas can be brought into your writing in ways you wouldn’t expect. Music can inspire world-building when it comes to fiction writing or even relationships that the characters have. Everyone has their own individual thoughts when listening to a song that reminds them of specific things, and if you put those thoughts on paper you can definitely take something from that and use it when writing. Emotions are very powerful in the mind and body when listing to music and reading or watching a story; these emotions can often help when creating characters or putting yourself in the shoes of that character. Music can often take me places when I get into that flow state, and the same can be said about writing. Sometimes when I write I listen to music to keep myself in a flow state and to keep myself from being distracted. I know that for some people music can actually be a distraction, and if you aren’t passionate about music I can see this being a possibility however if you do have a love for music it can be very helpful. Some people like to simply listen to relaxing “lofi” sounds to stay in a flow state of work and I would recommend trying this method. The music can keep you in that peak productive state, it’s also very relaxing and carefree. I will listen to these “lofi” instrumentals when writing but I like to put all of my music on shuffle sometimes when I’m working. There’s no particular reason that I do this besides the reason that I just like to listen to my music, but when I do this I get a range of different types of music and old and new music. I feel like this keeps the thoughts in my brain fresh and new and I convert this energy into unique concepts in my writing. Again, I don’t think that music and writing go together for everyone, especially if you aren’t very passionate about music, but I will recommend someone to try at least. You may discover something new about yourself or find a process that works better for you when you’re in a flow state. The music can bring thoughts and ideas in your head that you wouldn’t have otherwise and this can really help when writing not only fiction but any kind of writing. Not only can these ideas be helpful in your writing but the music can also keep you focused on your work if you don’t find the music distracting. Try different kinds of music in order to find what suits your workflow state the best, everyone has a different preference when it comes to working, music, and writing.