StoryLink — A huge site related to writing with content provided by dozens of working writers. Amazed I haven’t found this sooner.

Screenplay Beat Calculator — Some of you who enjoy structural guides may find this useful.

Blake Snyder — He has a cool blog. In Tools you’ll find a more general Beat Sheet form in the vein of the Beat Calculator.

Alex Epstein — I ordered his book on TV writing, and in looking at his site I found a few useful resources, including a links page on where to find popular movie scripts for study.

The formative years of my ever-evolving musical taste were in high school, like so many other people. That was eons ago in a decade some people call the 1990s. I guess that pegs me as young or old depending on which side of the fence you stand.

In between marathon listening sessions of Smashing Pumpkins or The Cure, I began to discover an abstract among all the music I gravitated towards. That common ground was an appreciation for blissful soundscapes and ambient textures. It wasn’t much later that I delved into electronic music, and as often happens during such explorations, you go to the source. For the ambient genre that would be none other than the grandfather of ambient himself, Brian Eno.

I love ambient music, because it doesn’t distract me or steal the thunder from my writing sessions. A worthy student of his, and another favorite of mine is Cliff Martinez. I first discovered the music of Cliff Martinez when I saw the movie Traffic in the theaters. I sat there with the audience, lodging corn hulls in between my gums, bathing my teeth in high fructose corn syrup and phosophoric acid, I thought to myself, “This sounds like Brian Eno.” When the credits rolled, Cliffy’s name rolled across the screen and the rest is history.

I didn’t follow Mr. Martinez’s career very closely as it happened.

Then I saw the 2002 Solaris. Again the mournful soundscapes greeted me! By this time, I was gleeful that Mr. Martinez happened to show up in a lot of films I enjoyed. So when I popped in the NARC DVD one fateful day, lo and behold what greeted me but yet more Eno-esque bliss? “This must be that Cliff Martinez again.” By this time I had started collecting his albums, eager for the next.

The last Martinez soundtrack available is Wicker Park. Cliff Martinez has since done a few other film scores, which unfortunately aren’t available yet. When they are, you can be sure that I’ll snatch them up and fire the mp3 play button during some future writing session.

Give Eno or Cliff a listen, and tell me what you think. We all gravitate towards certain styles and music.

What helps you write? What is your favorite writing music?