The Joy of Book Playlists

I have been writing Glasses and All for quite some time now. It's a story that I'm proud of so I have been taking my time to do it right. In 2013, I heard A Great Big World's song Say Something (the one featuring Christina Aguilera). The second I heard, I thought it was a perfect song for one of the chapters in my book. And from there, a playlist emerged.

Every time I head a song on the radio or on my iPod, I thought "Hmm . .  would that work for this chapter?" So one weekend, I decided to create a playlist. I sat at my computer on iTunes, YouTube and the like, finding songs that were perfect for my book. I came up with two songs per chapter that best showcased the emotions and/or plot of that chapter. I was pleased with what I came up with.

The first time I listened to the playlist, I couldn't stop smiling. Each time one of the songs played, I could picture the scene in that chapter clearly in my head, both the good and bad parts of it. The playlist has helped me to stay connected to my book even when I find myself too busy to work on it. When I do work on it, I always have the playlist playing in the background. It guides me through my book and the emotions and plots I want to tell within. 

Music has that great ability in portraying emotion that sometimes words alone can't do. By finding songs that connect to my book, I have been able to take it one step further. I listen to the song and pay attention to the way it makes me feel. Then I take those feelings and try my best to incorporate them into the story. 

This one experiment has made me want to do it for all my books. I am currently researching my next story and already I have a list of songs that might just work for what I want to say. 

Creating a playlist has now become apart of my writing routine and I am glad I added it.