Mmmm

My need for Ice cream after finishing writing an emotional chapter made me thing about 3 things.

1. Can you set your writing mood by listening to music as you write?

2. Do you reach for the comfort food after writing an emotional scene or is it just the tissues.?

3. If writing something emotional upsets you should you change the genre you write for? Should you limit yourself?

See sometimes this is about ramblings and musings

So 1. Can you set your writing mood by listening to music as you write?

Well I think you can. After a strange day I managed to change my mood by listening to my favourite love songs and I found it easier to write the scene. By using those love songs I could put myself in a place where it was easy to get inside the characters head and express the love he felt for his pregnant wife.

Now on the other hand had I been listening to "Pour some sugar on me" by Def Leppard, well now thats a whole different erotic scene LOL

We all use music from time to time to help our moods but I have definetely found it beneficial these last few weeks getting right into the mood of my characters. Which leads me to no 2

2. Do you reach for the comfort food after writing an emotional scene or is it just the tissues.?

I guess the answer to that one is - It depends. I certainly did tonight - a tub of Strawberry shortcake Haggen Das but I dont always, it depends what I am writing. I do however keep tissues nearby and on my person when editing on the go, on my kindle.

Emotion doesnt normally, or hasnt in the past, got to me too often but in the last few months, boy thats changed. Im a heap when it comes to reading, writing or editing an emotional bit. I have no control mechanism to stop myself reacting to it and have written scenes with tears dripping down my face until I cant see to write. I need to learn new comping mechanisms, thats a new skill if ever I heard one. Until then I will rely on ice cream and chocolate !

3. If writing something emotional upsets you should you change the genre you write for? Should you limit yourself?

Mmmm now this a question and a half. for me the answer is no, no limits. You should write what you want, what you think others will want to read, irrespective of the genre. Lines cross all the time, they get blurry, so why cant you write something that crosses two. Or should you stick to womans fiction, or crime or a thriller. Or can a writer grow and write for multiple genres?

Now maybe that should be my next experiment !