Every book I write tends to have a specific soundtrack to it. It’s what I listen to for thirty minutes or so before I sit down and actually start writing, which I know sounds a little crazy but … Eh … Whatever works, you know?
Sedition was written listening to the Gladiator soundtrack. Seriously, that’s how Trenna Silvanus “grew” for me as a character. However, that music didn’t fit for its sequel, Saboteur.
No, for Saboteur I totally rocked the Thor soundtrack for like eight months straight during the initial draft.
Witch-Born was a little tricky. I actually don’t remember the name of the band who made the album I listened to, or the album itself. It wasn’t my usual fare and got lost during one of the great computer renovations of 2009/10. It was heavy metal, though, I remember that. No lyrics, just some really hard guitar playing.
I totally blame the whole concept of Winter Tournament on that album, though. I had some seriously cool battle scenes whizzing through my head thanks to that music. Not all of them made it into the book, of course, but a couple key moments did.
Deviation, which I am excited to announce will be released through Double Dragon Publishing in Summer 2014, was written to the music of Battlestar Galactica Season 3.
And Dead Magic, also to be released from Double Dragon Publishing, had a theme track with The Planet of the Apes.
I imagine you can see a pattern here. All of these soundtracks had no lyrics. It shouldn’t be a surprise to hear that when I’m ready to start writing on Usurper I plug in my headphones and listen to The Chronicles of Narnia. (If you laugh at that one, then you didn’t pay attention to the music.)
However, my WWII book Crossweathers is utterly different. I thought that listening to the Band of Brothers soundtrack would shove me into Nazi Germany and help me soak up the “mood” of the book long enough for me to write it, but I was wrong.
Normally I would be in a state of panic without a “theme track” to follow this close to my committed time for working on the book. (I’m scheduled to start revamping a chapter a week starting Monday, April 29th. And then I’m going to start posting the work as a free, serialized novel on Wattpad June 1st.)
But I stumbled onto this gem of a song by Ross Copperman called “Holding On and Letting Go” and the story just clicked in my head. So, while the song has lyrics and what have you, I have still labeled it the “theme track” for Crossweathers. (That’s just for my personal reference, I have no connection with Ross Copperman. It’s just the song I will listen to before I get to work.)
Does anyone else have “theme songs” they listen to when they write?
Better yet, do you think you have a theme song for your own life? (I watched Sound of Music last night and decided “How do you solve a problem like Maria” was totally appropriate for me.)
AJMaguire 