Music has always been a huge part of my life since I was very young. My mom tells stories about how to get me to go to sleep at night, she often had to put me in the car and drive around listening to music. In our house, music was always playing. And despite the fact that I couldn’t sing very well, or dance for that matter, I recall being so taken by the lyrics.
I’m one of those people who hear something, see something, or even smell something and can almost immediately think of a song that relates based on a lyric. Although by no means do I know the words to every song, if I hear a song once or twice, I typically have memorized the lyrics. Why? Because it’s poetry in motion; a story of love or loss; a tale of the writer’s soul set to music.
To me, listening to music isn’t much different than reading a book. They each tell a story in their own way through their lyrics, be them a love song or even hardcore rap. Not all the stories are that interesting, but hey, I’m a book reviewer so I’m accustomed to a dud story or two.
When I write, I’m typically unable to listen to just any music and that’s because of the lyrics. If I listen to music with lyrics when the mood doesn’t call for it, I get caught up in their story instead of my own. I end up wanting to write about what I’m hearing and get completely sidetracked. So, I end up listening to soundscapes, which settles my mind and allows me to focus on the world I’m creating.
There are times when different genres of music work perfectly for what I’m writing, though. If I’m writing a YA piece, I’ll often try to listen to current music where I get the feeling of music my characters might be interested in. If I’m writing a scene in any piece that’s sort of romantic, I’ll often turn on some Air Supply, or maybe an 80’s love songs mix. It truly varies for me.
Lyrics are always running through my head, as they narrate the story of my life. Every step I’ve taken can be told by one lyric or another. As I begin writing more, I hope that music will make a bigger impact on it as well.