Writing Music: Besaid Island

Video games, like movies, often have amazing soundtracks. Recently, I’ve been exploring the soundtracks of several games recommended to me by my writing friends, and the lovely people over on Twitter. And I unearthed a treasure-trove of amazing writing music. What’s great about video game music over many other kinds, is that they’re actually designed to be listened to on an endless loop without becoming boring or repetitive. The pieces are made to be atmospheric, while also fading into the background, allowing you to focus on what’s really important: the game. Or in our case, our books.

One piece that I particularly fell in love with, was Besaid Island from the soundtrack to Final Fantasy X. I’ve had it playing on nearly endless repeat for the last two weeks while I’ve been editing, blogging, reading, surfing the internet, or eating, and I still haven’t got tired of it yet. It’s a gentle, positive piece with a definite fantasy feel to it. It’s great for playing in the background if you want some non-distracting music during a less tension-filled part of your book. It would also suit a happy scene, a scene with a positive revelation, or a peaceful, reflective scene. While Besaid Island suits fantasy books in particular, it would also do well as a writing music for most other genres too.

What music are you listening to at the moment? Do you ever listen to video game music while writing? If so, which games? And tell me, do you ever listen to a song on endless repeat for weeks at a time?