(Photo courtesy my eldest son) |
I don’t listen to music while I’m actually writing—for
that I need silence (and sometimes white noise on my headphones)—but playlists
have definitely become part of my process.
Writing, for me, is a visual thing. I “see” the story
play out like a movie, and sometimes songs set characters in motion
unexpectedly, creating little private music videos within my mind that show me
scenes developing.
Each character will have specific songs that make
them “move”.
Hugh, the historical hero of A Desperate Fortune, really liked The Fray, to the point
where even now, if I play that group’s song “I Can Barely Say”, Hugh will start
stirring. It’s become very much “his” song, and while I was writing it showed
me a whole sweeping arc of his backstory—a useful thing, since Hugh rarely
spoke and I came to rely on the lyrics to speak for him while I was coming to
grips with his character.
In Bellewether—the book I’m writing now—the historical
hero, Jean-Philippe, is more a One Republic kind of guy.
The playlist just develops while I’m working on a
novel. If a song comes on the radio that makes a scene begin to stir, I add it
to the iPod. On the Bellewether playlist right now I’ve got 26 songs, and I’m
sure I’ll add more.
Here are
ten of them, in no particular order:
Breathe - Ryan StarI've Told You Now - Sam SmithMercy - One RepublicThe Words - Christina PerriUnbreak - Ryan StarSay - One RepublicHold My Hand - The FraySecrets - One RepublicHuman - Christina PerriStop and Stare - One Republic
It’s the rare writing day when I don’t listen to a
few songs from that playlist. Just not while I’m actually writing. :-)
Here’s another of Hugh’s favourite songs by the Fray. Hope you enjoy it as much as he did.