The Writing Playlist
Good for the plotter, bad for the indecisive
I’ve always loved the idea of making a playlist for my stories. One, it sounds really cool, and two, it could be useful for getting into the right mindset. If a stellar soundtrack is good enough for movies, then it’s good enough for me, right?
Except I’m so bad at using them!
Trust me, I’ve tried. I have entire playlists called Book 1 and Sad Classical and Battle Music. I usually spend an hour or two adding a dozen songs, but when it’s actually time to write, I’m either not in the mood, questioning my initial song choices, or (the usual scenario) I completely forget about every playlist all together.
But the concept of a writing playlist is so cool! Just like a movie soundtrack can tell a story without words, a writing playlist could help subtly direct my story by influencing my own mood and attitude.
I also wonder if a good playlist would help me write for longer stretches of time without feeling burnt out or lost in my own story. It seems like built-in motivation, and that’s never gone wrong at all.
(This is totally not me going down a rabbit hole just because I think this is a cool idea.)
After doing a bit of research, I’ve learned that there’s more to playlists than meets the eye. Like, apparently there’s a difference between a writing playlist and a book playlist?
Some writers might prefer a generic playlist, like one easily available on Spotify. Others might create one for each manuscript, especially if they write different genres. You could even create a different playlist for every step of the process: brainstorming, plotting, editing, etc.
Not to sound lazy, but that sounds like a lot of work for me. And also an easy way to procrastinate.
But the above article actually has some pretty good tips on creating your own playlist: avoiding lyrics (which can be distracting), adding songs you aren’t immediately familiar with, and keeping your playlist active by growing it alongside your story.
I’ve found avoiding lyrics helpful in my own experience (mostly because no song is perfect for every situation, and those inconsistencies distract me from writing), but for some reason I always made my playlist in advance and never updated it again. Is that the key to remembering I made the playlist in the first place? Actually interreacting with it?
(That was sarcasm. Hindsight is 20/20, and all that.)
I guess my next goal will be finding a good place to discover music, which is what I usually struggle with when making playlists, anyway. Where do I turn?
I watch a lot of Marvel movies, and something tells me I don’t need a playlist full of action-packed battle songs (although the first Guardians of the Galaxy has the best soundtrack of any superhero movie and no one can change my mind). My other option is…the 2005 Pride & Prejudice? Iconic, but also not what I’m looking for.
One of the most important tools for any author is comp titles. When you’re trying to get readers, the best way to snag their attention is by telling them your book is similar to other books they already love.
While they’re easy to overthink, maybe they’re the key to creating the perfect playlist. If I know the vibes I’m going for, I can narrow in on the sound I want.
The best example I can think of is pretty recent. For some unexplainable reason, whenever I sat down to write my novel, the end-credit song of Spider-Man: Homecoming (Blitzkrieg Bop by The Ramones) always played on repeat in my head.
There’s not even a direct correlation between that movie and my novel. (Maybe just the whole teenager coming of age thing? Definitely not the superhero thing.)
I truly think unintentionally putting that upbeat, carefree tune on repeat inspired me more than I realized—the banter between my main three characters, especially. It’s not the perfect fit for every emotion I wrote, but when I think about this story, that’s the song that comes to mind.
Do you have a favorite playlist you like to listen to while working? I’d love some suggestions in the comments down below!
So maybe the key is quality over quantity, or maybe the real trick will be expanding my music taste (which seems an equally likely solution). Either way, this might be an on-going project I work on for my next WIPs.
If it takes less than 10 months, we’ll know I did something right. And if it doesn’t, I get another Substack post out of the deal. A win-win for sure.