Uncover the Power of Storytelling Through Musical Inspiration
In this week’s edition of Inspiration Monday, we explore the musical element of creativity further. You might wonder why we are diving deeper into this when the subject was brought up last week. The simple answer is… I’m a little bit insane when it comes to music.
Why I use Playlists
This addiction started many years ago when I was still roleplaying. At first, particular music appealed to the writer and could be applied to any character writing. Over time, these songs would become playlists for specific characters. At the time, I wrote several characters. I guess you could say I was losing inspiration for writing my characters. Adding music to my writing made a big difference. I learned then that every character was divergent and was motivated by different music. Sometimes, these were tribute videos featuring the play of my character, while other times, it was songs that I heard somewhere along the way, and they reminded me of the particular character.
Roleplay Writing Playlists
Katrine’s Playlists
In her original Star Wars roleplay character form, Katrine has two playlists. Why? The first one was more suitable for a more child-like, carefree time but with a lot of baggage I created when beginning the character. Her play-by is Dove Cameron, and a lot of the music there is featured from her Disney era, especially the Descendants movies, which went well with the original version of the character with purple hair (this was a curse). Other songs include The Phoenix by Fall Out Boy, Warriors by Imagine Dragons, Credo by Giorgia and many others.
Some of these songs represent the characters, while others represent her relationship and later broken heart and even the journey I had intended for her to take towards adulthood. It’s a mix of powerful and sad songs that represent the particular era in Katrine’s character development.
Why does Katrine have a second playlist? Frankly, somewhere past that broken heart storyline and the changes that began to take hold in her development, many of the songs on the original playlist simply didn’t suit her anymore. Rather than deleting many of them and starting new here, I made another playlist that would better represent her adulthood. Some songs were featured, such as power songs about her journey as the future queen of the moon of her ancestors (which you will recognise, to a degree, to the Wolf’s Heir: Katrine’s Awakening story).
This is the post-heartbreak Katrine, who begins to grow up. It was a storyline that wasn’t planned but became part of her journey because the magic of roleplay is that you develop individual characters and write with others. You’re not the only one making decisions; the character will be influenced by what other characters do. In Katrine’s example, she met another wolf, and it seemed like one of those forever stories (Because all young adult stories often do). However, her heart was broken when the man turned out to be stringing along with her and her adopted sister.
In the end, Katrine had to experience the heartbreak and begin growing up, which inspired the change. Along the path, she also realised there was someone else in her life who had always been there for her and would one day become more important than she ever thought possible.
Songs on this playlist include Angels Fall by Breaking Benjamin (one of my favourite bands), Supergirl by Reamonn, My Demons by Starset, Unstoppable by Sia, Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes, and others. While the original playlist included power songs, this one is a collection of pick-me-up, broken heart, growing up, and surprising love songs.
Larentia’s Playlist
Another interesting playlist from this roleplay time is one devoted to Katrine’s future daughter, Larentia. Her younger self is a character in The Wolf’s Heir: Katrine’s Awakening, but in the roleplay world, we also have the adult version of the character and in a bit of a Doctor Who (River Song) and Back to the Future inspiration, Larentia has travelled back in time to stop a dark future from happening and had inspired Katrine’s choice for naming her younger daughter by the same name without knowing she had, in fact, called her daughter after her daughter.
Larentia’s playlist is heavily influenced by the 100’s Lexa tributes, as the play by for the adult version is Alycia Debnam Carey. The character of Lexa was a huge inspiration for Larentia’s appearance and the weight of the world’s struggles that she faces. Check it out.
Just One Playlists
I will include a few more playlists to this list as they relate to the Just One series.
For the first book, we have this list. It contains some tribute songs, such as those dedicated to Mackenzie Foy, a one-time favourite for my choice of Eveleen Collins, the first book’s main character. Some songs are also created in tribute to the Queen’s Gambit Netflix show, as the main character is an inspiration for another in Just One, though her journey has a rocky start in the series. Justin Timberlake’s Mirrors, Your Call by Secondhand Serenade, some Luke Evans songs, and tribute songs from Roswell that felt right for the Just One book showcase the young love present in this book.
We have this playlist for Just One: Edge of Never, the sequel. Songs here are more focused on the second love story of the series, that of Kivana Eli and Zannder, which can be considered the original romance (timeline-wise). However, as the story progresses, it will show that there is even more buried in the past that not even our lovers know. Luke Evans songs make an appearance here as well (as he is the last choice for Zannder’s play-by), as well as tribute videos for Kate Beckinsale characters that suit the mood of the story (I have told you this before, but this actress is the earliest choice for my play by list, who represented Kivana Eli even in a time when Just One was a fan fiction story.
Some other songs, such as What If by Kate Winslet, It’s Not Goodbye by Sweet November, Sleeping at Last by Saturn, and Sail Away by the Rasmus, may give you some spoilers as to the mood of this story. But we won’t divulge too deeply into that now.
I love this playlist and sometimes even listen to it when I’m not writing.
For the third book in the series, we have this playlist. Some songs from the original playlist return here, but others feature as well, such as Kings & Queens by Ava Maz, Lovers in the Sun by David Guetta, Shots and It’s Time by Imagine Dragons, and Beating Heart by Ellie Goulding, among others. This story will return us to the original couple from book one, Eveleen and Cameron and sets a different tone in the early pages compared to Just One. Ellie will be different here; she’s not the same character.
While in Just One, you, the reader, will be learning about this world alongside Ellie, in the Weight of the World, Ellie knows everything and steps into the town of Colletown with an agenda aimed at protecting the people around her (even if they don’t like how she does this). This book will be cut into two in its first draft once I return to it.
Lastly… this one has been teased, is the book that will reveal the background reasons for the Just One series but will not feature most of the characters we know from the first books. No, this book will follow the conspirators of a conspiracy only teased throughout Just One, Edge of Never and Weight of the World through several characters. Have a listen. I have so far created (or detailed) characters and begun the plotting process (how I want the story to go, chapters outlined, etc.). Still, as this is a major point in the story and one I didn’t quite know myself throughout my time with Just One, I’ve grown very excited in developing this story and look forward to writing it and realising even more throughout the first draft (‘m more of a pantser, after all).
Writing with Music
There was a time in my life when I needed silence in both my writing and studying. This almost feels like another lifetime where I didn’t quite understand the power of music, especially when telling my stories. I was always an avid music listener, going through different devices that get joked about in memes now (Discman, Walkman). I still have a record player back at home and feel some songs simply sounded better that way as they were made for this era.
But it came as a true discovery, realising how important music was in my storytelling. Once this got hold of me, it never went away. I write and edit music with particular playlists. Each story or character has its own playlist; creating one comes early in the writing process before the chapters begin.
It’s like a rabbit hole, one I have never returned from.
Do you write or plot with music? Do you have different playlists for different stories, or do you prefer to have a set that simply inspires you? I would love to know the answer to these questions, so go on, tell me about it in the comments, and share how you get inspired.
The Wrap Up
As always, I hope you enjoyed the read and tune in again next week for the next rendition of Inspiration Monday. This will be the only written blog section covering all previously existing topics. I would greatly appreciate likes and follows, especially on this blog post.
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Until next time…
~ Love, L.V.
L.V. Luca 