I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the link between music and writing. For me, the two are intertwined. I almost always listen to music when writing, and, often, listening to music inspires me to write. This is especially true when I am writing fiction, though I cannot listen to music when I am working on poetry, especially if the song is lyric driven. But when it comes to fiction, I find it difficult to get into the rhythm of a story unless I have music playing, and the type of music matters.
When I was a child, I made up stories to go along with songs on the radio or on my Walkman when my family made long car trips. These stories were like movies, and the music was the soundtrack that guided the action in my imagination. Often, I would continue the same story through multiple songs. Sometimes, a single story could unwind for an entire three or four hour drive.
So, music has always been part of my creative process, even before I knew there was such a thing as creative process or that I had one. I was reminded of this fact when I first started getting serious about working on my novel, Land Until the Sky Comes Down. I had just finished graduate school and Rob and I had moved back to Laramie. I was working several part-time jobs and looking for a full-time gig to help pay the bills. My sister-in-law, who at that time was not dating my brother but was already a good friend of Rob’s and mine, bought tickets to Mumford and Sons when they played in Laramie. It was hands-down the best concert I have ever attended, and it felt particularly special because the venue was small and it occurred right before the band really hit mainstream success. But what I remember the most is how moved I was by the music and by the dedication those young men had made to their art and living a creative life. They were doing what they loved, had devoted their lives to their craft, and they were not much older than I.
Shortly after attending that concert, I started really working on my novel instead of just tinkering with a few scenes. I began making Spotify playlists of songs that reminded me of each of the main characters. As much as writing character profiles, these playlists helped me understand who these people were and what was at stake for each of them. At first, I tried to arc each of the playlists so that the movement between songs would mimic the rising and falling tension each character experiences as the novel unfolds, but in the last year I abandoned that structure and simply continued to add songs that reminded me most powerfully of David, Earl, or Pam. Some songs are shared by two or all three of the characters because sometimes, a song simply captures multiple perspectives and the overall tone of the novel for me.
The last few mornings of working on my novel have been difficult, and I’ve relied on my character playlists to get into the story. I’d like to share these playlists with you via Spotify. You may need to sign up for a Spotify account in order to listen. (They offer both a free and premium version). I’m not sponsored in any way by Spotify, but I do highly recommend it. It is a great way to discover new music and listen to old favorites.
I hope you enjoy these character playlists, and that the stories in the music inspire you in their own way.