Like many writers, I listen to music. I can’t write without music. I use Pinterest, read novels, and watch movies as sources of inspiration, but ultimately, music makes me FEEL things. Perhaps this is because I’ve been playing music since I was 7 years old. Maybe it is just one of my quirks. The fact remains: music is a HUGE source of inspiration, and it is key to my writing process.
The Favorites
I’ve always loved movie scores. John Williams is one of my all-time favorite soundtrack composers – the man is a musical genius and I highly, highly, highly recommend looking him up on Spotify. It is just mind-blowing! I also enjoy Ennio Morricone, Harry Gregson-Williams, Howard Shore, Hans Zimmer, John Powell, James Horner, Alan Silvestri, Brian Tyler, Alan Menken, and many more!
Drafting
While drafting, music helps me envision the scenes I’m writing. Music sparks my imagination and gets my creative juices flowing. Usually, my drafting playlists contain instrumental music from movie soundtracks, television shows, and computer games. For my current work in progress, I’ve used a lot of songs from ROBIN HOOD, SHADOW AND BONE, and THE WITCHER series. These sounds are a great reflection of the feel I want this book to have: it’s a bit dark and gritty, but not without hope.
That Scene Though!
Many of the songs in my playlist reflect the general feel of the book, but some songs fit a certain scene. I will play that song over and over while drafting: the music helps me see the scene in my head like a movie – especially the action and romance scenes. For example, in my previous WIP, there’s an ambush scene in a forest that plays out to the song “Prince Caspian Flees” from THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, and there’s a kissing scene set to James Horner’s “The Portrait” from TITANIC.
Character Playlists
I also make a character playlist for each of my major characters. These playlists have 10-25 pop/rock jams. I look for lyrics and beats that fit my characters’ ghosts, personalities, and emotional developments throughout the book. These songs help me get inside my characters’ heads and hearts. They come in handy when I’m having some trouble figuring out my characters’ next moves.
Revisions
Weirdly enough, during revisions, I don’t use the playlists I created during my drafting phase. I’m not sure why. It may have something to do with the need to focus on fixing things, and I cannot afford to lose myself in the scene. Instead, I use a playlist filled with music from Two Steps from Hell. Their music gets me into the right vibe and the songs sort of blend together to form a wonderful backdrop for focused revision work. I highly recommend looking them up!