Unlike Missy Elliott, music doesn’t make me lose control. In fact, it helps me center in and focus, which is why I build a soundtrack (sometimes several) for each work in progress. For Baggage, I added the songs to my extended outline and organized my Amazon Music playlist chronologically by scene. I listen to the soundtrack on loop while brainstorming and plotting, then return when I’m stuck in drafting. Though I confess, I usually listen to something instrumental or Yanni/Enya (or I listen to STARSET on infinite loop because why not, I will die on this hill) when writing so my focus can stay on the page instead of on the lyrics when I’m really in the zone. For The Pit Stop, music made it onto the page, and ABBA fit into Alexis and Jake’s journey. But you can’t listen to ABBA without belting it out, and I don’t need karaoke when writing. I need BICHOK.
Since music played into the story for The Pit Stop, I had playlists plural. Lots of them. And since this standalone spun off into several companion novels, each of the major companion characters now has a WIP playlist waiting for their turn.
For Baggage, Ainsley isn’t as musically savvy, so I don’t have as many playlists. I try to build the playlist off of the characters and story. Since Ainsley only listens to country, the Baggage playlist is almost entirely country except for a few key songs: Bailando for my reggaeton dance club scene and Vivaldi for the scene where Brandon has it playing in the background, because he’s cultured as *#@!.
Here’s a sample breakdown and explanation of building playlists for inspiration using the first quarter of Baggage as an example. (These playlists can change over time based on where the story goes in development. This is Baggage at the end of outlining.)
FBO Intro: Dolly Parton – 9 to 5
Because it’s enough to drive Ainsley crazy if she lets it.
Roadside Assistance: Chase Rice – What’s Your Name
Meet cute for Ainsley’s future BFF. And he wants to know girl, what’s her name?
Birthday Drinks at the Bar: Lady A – Bartender / Kelsea Ballerini
Since it’s a very country playlist, there are plenty of options here, and I couldn’t decide on just one. And there’s definitely a hole in Ainsley’s wine glass in this scene.
Surprise Encounters of the Uncomfortable Kind: Dierks Bentley – Goodbye in Telluride
No story set in Colorado is complete without a Dierks Bentley song from his The Mountain album. This song inspired the backstory of Ainsley’s breakup with her ex, which is revealed in this scene.
Birthday Hangover: Kelsea Ballerini – overshare
Ainsley gets verbal diarrhea with no less than three characters in this scene. Overshare, indeed.
Salt Lake Fail: Carrie Underwood – Cowboy Casanova
This scene covers Ainsley’s first date with Cash, where he shows up with his flashy Stetson and belt buckle and freshly polished boots to fly her away in his private plane.
Debt Snowball Avalanche: Miranda Lambert – Bluebird
Ainsley comes across some rough revelations in this scene. The house just keeps on winning. She doesn’t know it, but she has a wildcard up her sleeve. She keeps a light on in her soul and a bluebird in a soul.
Mother May I: Carrie Underwood – Blown Away
Ainsley faces off with her mother in the trailer park she grew up in, surrounded by the scars of her childhood. Shatter every window until it’s blown away. Every slamming door blown away… nothing left of yesterday. Ainsley has an emotional tornado to survive in this first plot point.
Each big beat, every emotional rollercoaster in my story, has a song to represent it. I love weaving symbolism into my stories (see Jake’s cord necklace and Alexis’s tattoo in The Pit Stop and Ainsley and Fiona’s teddy bear in Baggage) so it’s fitting to have a playlist full of symbolism to represent my story and characters. Music is its own form of storytelling, and it’s a powerful motivator for me as I put my characters onto the page. If you’re familiar with the songs above, you’ll see some of the lyrics woven into the explanations to help connect the dots between the songs and the scenes in my mind.
How does music play into your writing process?