Being Creative

Ambient writing soundscapes and my epic Star Wars playlist

Plus 19th-century streaming services, Zombiotes attack and Science Fiction recommendations

Cavan Scott

Sep 25, 2024 • 8 min read

Photo: BTStock / Canva Teams

Hello there!

Here we are again, back for another newsletter. So what have we on the agenda this week?

Writing music

There is always a lot of talk about what music people play when writing and on the whole, my answer is... none.

I know, I know... that's incredibly boring, but nine times out of ten, I simply can't write with anything playing. I need silence to make the words flow.

Actually, that's not entirely true. I do play something from time to time... the sound of rain hammering against windows!

There's something about the sound of a storm outside that helps me focus. I have a host of videos with variations on the theme saved on YouTube for when I need to get my head down and concentrate.

This one is my favourite, complete with crackling fire, the creak of a chair and the occasional scrape of pen across parchment. It's like having a spectral scribe sitting alongside me, urging me on!

Here's another on a similar theme (but no ghostly monks this time!)

Of course, there are moments when I need something a little more... futuristic...

Futuristic and often terrifying...

Getting in the mood

While music often gets in the way of actually writing, I use it all the time when planning and plotting, helping me get in the mood for whatever I'm trying to conjure up!

Just yesterday I was blocking out the pages of Star Wars: The High Republic #4 and so reached for my usual Star Wars playlist. It features new arrangements by the awesome Samuel Kim meaning that, while the themes themselves are familiar, I'm not thinking of specific scenes as I would if I played the original William's soundtracks.

The Epic Star Wars list goes on whenever I'm working out stories for a galaxy far, far away, playing on loop until the outline is set in stone. I'm sure after a while I don't even hear the music. I'm just in the middle of it!

Here's a link to the playlist on Apple Music so you can listen yourself.

Shifting gears and genres

But what if I'm not writing Star Wars? Well, I do have several go-to soundtracks depending on the genre.

If it's dread-laden horror I'm after then I reach for Ben Lovett's eerie soundtrack for The Ritual.

Playful fantasy? Then it's Danny Elfman's Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

Shadow Service, my supernatural spy series from Vault Comics, was largely brainstormed to Albert Iglesias's soundtrack to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy...

... as well as Daniel Pemberton's brilliant score for The Game.

As for my upcoming books, I played Cliff Martinez's music from Drive a lot when coming up with Godfather of Hell...

And as for Night of the Slashers, well, this one won't be a surprise...

So what about my fellow writers and creators out there? Do you have any specific music you listen to when working? Or any ambient soundscapes?

Share your favourites in the comments!

Oh, and speaking about Godfather of Hell, did you see the little sneak peek Vault posted yesterday on the 'gram?

Not long now until issue 1!

My new favourite thing - The Théâtrophone

Clare and I visited the wonderful Toulouse-Lautrec and the Masters of Montmartre exhibition at Bath's Victoria Art Gallery this past weekend. The collection, which has spent the last five years on the road, collates one hundred stunning French posters from the 1880s and 1890s, including the iconic Chat Noir poster alongside many other works from the finest bohemian artists of late nineteenth-century Paris.

Advertising everything from theatre, strip shows and novels to alcohol, cigarettes and bicycles, there were so many gems on show, but a standout for me was this gem, promoting a service I didn't know existed but now can't stop thinking about.

Théâtrophone by Jules Chéret advertised a subscription service where users could dial in to listen to concerts, plays and even five-minute news reports live over their telephone. It ran from 1890 to 1932 and was also available in selected hotels, clubs and cafes at a cost of 50 centimes for five minutes entertainment.

And we thought streaming was a 21st Century invention!

The exhibition closes this coming Saturday, so there is still time to see the collection before it travels to its new permanent home at the Musée d’Ixelles in Belgium. It's well worth catching if you can-can!

Here's the link for tickets!

OUT TODAY - ZOMBIOTES ATTACK!

Issue 2 of Venom War: Zombiotes is out today.

Want a preview of the first gory pages? Of course you do!

ZOMBIOTE LAND! As the two Venoms fight, a darker strain of symbiotes – the Zombiotes – slither across New York City. The dead are reanimated into CRAWLERS! The living possessed as SWINGERS – all intent on turning the entire city into mindless killing machines! An unlikely team – led by She-Hulk, Hellcat, and Shocker – could be humanity’s only hope!

Written by me, with art by Juan José Ryp, colours by Ceci De Le Cruz and letters by Travis Lanham with a cover by Juan Ferreyra.

I had a ball working on the series and hope it shows, especially when our team of super-powered misfits make it to Marvel's iconic Bar with No Name. Hmmm. Avoiding zombies by making for a pub? Was I inspired by Shaun of the Dead with this one? Okay, yes, I admit it, that's what I immediately pitched to editor Jordan White when I received the call to join the Venom War team!

Let me know what you think of the issue!

Questions and Answers

Kora asked via my AMA form:

Will Star Wars: The High Republic #1 be a one shot? Or more comic series? I am wondering how this comic series will tie into Mr Soule's High Republic final book.

Thank you for your time! Hope your migraine has gone away!

Kora! Thanks for the well wishes.

For those who didn't spot my Instagram post last week, I posted the Judge Dredd Megazine newsletter and was promptly hit by the mother-of-all-occular migraines which wiped me out for the rest of the day. The only upside was, when I had stopped seeing flashing lights, taking the day off meant that I could finally watch the five-hour documentary about 80s science fiction movies, In Search of Tomorrow! Five hours! And it was brilliant, even if I did feel like death warmed up while huddled on the sofa!

Just look at the films discussed in the doc:

Anyway, Kora, you don't want to hear about that. You want to hear about Fear of the Jedi! You’re talking about the fourth volume of the High Republic ongoing series which will return from Marvel this February.

You can read more about it here!

As for how Fear of the Jedi ties into Charles’ Trials of the Jedi novel, well, in the words of the Doctor…

I also heard from Alexander, who says:

I was surprised that none of the books you said you reading or listening to in this week's newsletter were science fiction? I would have thought science fiction would have been required reading for Star Wars writers.

Hey Alexander! Well, that list was only a snapshot of what was on my reading pile last week. I do indeed read and listen to science fiction, although, in all honesty, I probably read a little more horror, fantasy and mystery, but that's just my personal preference. When I do venture into the realms of science fiction, it's usually for space opera rather than hard SF which often leaves me a little cold. Then there's Doctor Who, of course, but I always view DW as science fantasy rather than strict science fiction.

Recent SF books I've enjoyed have been: The World is not Yours by Kemi Ashing-Giwa (you can read what I had to say about it here), Gareth L. Powell's Future's Edge which I had the pleasure of reading early to blurb and The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown which I devoured over the weekend.

Brown's debut novella was tense, claustrophobic and utterly compelling, the plight of the young commander of an ailing generation ship who discovers that the crew have a deadly pest-control problem.

What can she hear banging in the walls, why won't her father come out of his quarters and why is the android she hates picking up strange unsettling signals from the fabric of space itself?

If you're a fan of Alien and Aliens you'll find a lot to like here!

That's all folks!

As always, don't forget you can ask me questions to answer here in the newsletter, either by a) posting a question in the comments, b) replying to this mail or c) using the Ask Me Anything form on my website!

Until next time, look after yourself and each other,

PS: Did you catch Doctor Who's Scott Handcock's Perfect Sunday? There are some great recommendations there!