When it comes to music, writers seem to be in one of two camps. Either they LOVE having music as a background to their story creation, or … they HATE it, and must instead have absolute silence in which to concentrate.
Personally, I’m in Camp A. I LOVE having music while I write, and always have. The louder and more epic, the better. I reach The Zone far more quickly and stay in it longer if I’ve got my headphones on and the music blaring. And since I started my current WIP about a year and a half ago, I’ve collected quite a whopping “noveling playlist”.
The thing is, my playlists differ based on which story I’m writing. Because each story has its own themes, its own moods, and I need music to match those specifics. While there are a few songs that overlap from one story to another, each individual playlist is mostly made up of its very own songs which aren’t shared with any other story.
So. Since every song is hand-picked and carefully selected to enhance the telling of my stories, I thought it might be fun to begin sharing some of these songs with the rest of the world, along with a little description of why I picked each one and what they contribute toward the actual writing. And then, hopefully, that will prompt some of the rest of you out there to share YOUR music inspiration, too! (I’ve found some of my very favorite songs through other writers!)
I will start with the playlist for the current WIP, working title of “The Good Thing”. And I will start with the song I feel represents the whole of the story. If this novel were to have a theme, “Silver Lining” by Hurts would most definitely be it.
“Silver Lining” was not the first song I added to the brand-new The Good Thing Playlist once I started writing the novel. In fact, it wasn’t among the first several. But when I saw the name, I knew it had great potential. One of my protagonists had something very traumatic happen to him during a bad storm, and ever since, has suffered PTSD-type symptoms when it thunderstorms. A song referring to silver linings was just the type of song I thought I needed.
And then I listened to it.
And I knew it was perfect from the very first beats.
But the lyrics … even the lyrics are perfect for the events of the novel, and in my head the song is about the two protagonists dealing with the world of the story as it surrounds them.
IT IS JUST SO PERFECT! ALL OF IT!
If I were to choose a favorite section of lyrics, though, it would be this:
Now there’s no way back from the things you’ve done
I know it’s too late to stop the setting sun.
You see the shadows in the distant light,
And it’s never going to be alright
And you know, and you know, and you know I’m right.And I won’t get left behind, when the walls come tumbling in
I’ll keep climbing, I’ll keep climbing
The rain’s going to follow you wherever you go.
The clouds go black and the thunder rolls
And I see lightning-
I see lightning-When the World surrounds you, I’ll make it go away
Paint the sky with silver lining
I will try to save you, cover up the grey
With silver lining.
Give it a listen, let me know what you think, and be sure to leave a comment with some of your favorite noveling music!
I’m always intrigued by writers who can work with music on – how do you stop the words in the song from getting in the way of the words in your head?
Good question, JFC! Most of my noveling music before this novel was epic music, the stuff you might hear during movie trailers and the like. There weren’t any words to get in the way of the words in my head, but the mood of the music was great for helping to boost the mood on the page. Now that I’m listening to a lot more songs with words in them, it actually hasn’t bothered me like I originally feared it might. I always listen to the songs before writing to them, often several times. So maybe by the time I do write to them, my brain has already absorbed the words and therefore doesn’t have to actively listen to them. I more tune into the general mood of the song while writing, with or without words, and only really use the words to maybe give me an extra inspiration boost just before settling down to write. And actually, once I’m in The Zone, my entire playlist can have played and ended and I’d be clueless, because at that point my consciousness is so inwardly focused, it takes a rather large interruption to bring my focus back to the real world! Though to be honest, it’s the same way when I’m reading a great book. In grade school my teachers often became exasperated when the entire class was lined up for recess/lunch, and I was still sitting at my desk reading my book, having no idea that anyone in the room had moved, nor that any announcement for impending recess had been made. I also used to walk down the stairs while reading, and they REALLY didn’t like that – thought I’d miss a stair and tumble to my death or something. What a silly notion!