“My writing influences are mainly photographs and music and they always convey a somewhat dark mood. I stare at landscape photographs by Michael Light or David Maisel just to let my brain settle and prepare to write.
Once I clear away the debris from the day, I can start channeling the voices of my characters. I also listen to music while I’m writing and almost always one album on repeat for an entire night. Usually I’m listening to my fiancé Jon DeRosa’s ambient/drone project “Aarktica,” because it’s not lyric-heavy and I can get lost in it. I recommend his album In Sea. I also listen to Rachel’s for the same reason. Their album Music for Egon Schiele is great to write to and on heavy rotation at my house. It’s moody music with strings, but isn’t obtrusive to the writing process at all. It’s really interesting to see how different songs and albums on repeat influence the outcome of my chapters.”
—Karolina Waclawiak, author of How to Get Into the Twin Palms (Two Dollar Radio, 2012)
Photo credit: Eric Burg