What Arouses My Writing the Most
The great writer William Faulkner once said, “The tools I need for my trade are paper, tobacco, food, and a little whiskey.”
Not a bad recipe to get yourself in the zone of writing. I’ve used three of those myself (substitute Sauvignon Blanc for whiskey).
But if I may add one more element that I’ve found extremely useful in getting the words to pass from my head through my fingertips and onto the paper, it would be this: the perfect mood-setting music. Thinking music. Feeling music. Chill music. And definitely sexy music. Music that sets the tone, amps of the heat, and, well, music that, quite honestly, puts me in the mood. It’s true. When it comes to writing, the music that arouses me most also arouses the lusty thoughts I want my readers to enjoy.
The fact is, I need the atmosphere in which I write to mirror the scene I’m writing about as much as possible. If the scene is dripping with eroticism, I need my surroundings to be erotic, which usually means dim lighting with lots of candles, my cozy white robe nuzzled against my bare skin, a glass of my favorite wine from Mr. Mondavi, and just the right music that gets my mind imagining and my juices flowing.
For example, when I wrote “The Simple Art of Lust,” I listened to a lot of music by Enigma. The downtempo beats, the monks chanting in the background, and the woman having an orgasm in the song “The Principles of Lust” really helped set the tone I was going for in the novella. Their music comes across as sensually spiritual, and that was exactly what I felt and was hoping readers would feel as I wrote. Maybe that tone came through, maybe it didn’t. I’ll let you decide for yourself. But I will say their music helped me bang out every lusty thought I had for that story.
“WHEN IT COMES TO WRITING, THE MUSIC THAT AROUSES ME MOST ALSO AROUSES THE LUSTY THOUGHTS I WANT MY READERS TO ENJOY.”
I recently had the wonderful opportunity to hear Chris Botti in concert in Houston. Oh my, what an amazing musician! You talk about music that arouses me for writing and otherwise! Those soulfully seductive sounds from Chris Botti’s trumpet make me want to rip off my clothes! And it’s not just Chris Botti I listen to when writing. Sometimes it’s Jeff Oster, Jesse Cook, Rick Braun, or even someone from decades ago like Ben Webster or Miles Davis. Jazz music, traditional and smooth, always puts me in the right frame of mind for writing. It gets my juices of creativity flowing!
I listen to jazz, spa, downtempo … anything that allows my mind to think and engages my deepest desires. And sometimes, that means going straight to my Tantra playlist. In fact, I’m currently working on another Laci Kicklighter novella called “The Story of Q,” and my choice of music for this one is all tantra. I’ll give you a hint: the story involves a lot of naked people in a chateau. I’m having a lot of fun working on this one. I’ll let you decide once you read the story if my choice of music was the right tool for the job.
So, Mr. Faulkner, I applaud you on your choice of tools for producing some of the finest literature to ever come forth from an American author. But for me, the secret is in the music. If I can imagine my characters in the scene listening to the music I’m listening to as I write, then I know I’ve got just the right tool to arouse the story out of me.
