Writing and music are very intertwined in my storytelling
process. I struggle with this creatively
because I realize music is much more subjective than any other sense I could
use for description, but for me is often the best way for me to set a certain mood
for a scene of understanding of how a character is feeling at a given
time.
Unfortunately, the chances that someone else gets the same
reactions and feelings from a song is not only certain, but very unlikely. When I hear the song Champagne Supernova, I
immediately feel the hope and wonder that my fifteen-year-old self felt the
first time I heard the song.
Here is a great example:
A close guy friend came up to me in orchestra class and
pulled me into the cello room, promising me a life changing experience. Most people might think this story is going
in a different direction, I am a romance writer after all, but nothing that
boring happened in that closet. Instead
he pulled out a CD from his bag and played Champagne Supernova by Oasis for
me. Ten seconds into the song, I was
already in love. Halfway through, I knew
that I wanted to go to the Champagne Supernova in the sky. By the end, I knew my life had been changed
forever. In the same way Strawberry
Fields Forever had changed my life a year or two earlier, I now lived in a
world where this song existed, and I now knew about the genius of the Gallagher
brothers. I felt like they GOT me and understood the relationships
I had with my friends and that we’d be able to get through anything together.
My thirty-three year old self, well… she really appreciates the
enthusiasm of her fifteen-year-old self, but feels those feelings right along
with her. Except I have no idea now what
the song is trying to say, and am torn being wanting to be that idealistic
person again and being happy to have the life experiences that have put me in a
place where I don’t even get the song anymore.
You are probably asking, so what? The point is, I could set an entire scene in
a story where a character is listening to that song and it will totally work to
tell me everything I need to know about how the character is feeling at that
exact moment, but unless you had the same experience with the song nineteen
years ago that I did (oh my God I’m old!), it’s not going to tell you the
reader a damn thing.
So as a writer, I have to try and describe those feelings
that song evokes in me. What I find is
that I’m just there as a writer yet. I
can get close. I can start to set the
scene with objects and thoughts. But
really describing the feeling I feel as I am writing still evades me.
I also struggle with how much to include the music in my
writing. This is particularly difficult
when I’m writing characters that are musicians.
When they are performing, I know as a writer exactly what they are
playing and what their entire set is.
But how much does the reader care?
I know I care when I read, but am I normal? The answer to that question is obviously
always no, but when it comes to music in writing I suspect most people care
less than I do.
I like the idea of including play-lists with the book, so
that people who do care can listen with you, but I know I’ve never bothered to
look-up the list on Spotfy to listen, so I doubt many others do. I like a listing at the back of the book,
both of the songs that are included in the book as well as songs that were
influencing the book while it was written, and I fully intend to do that for my
books.
Hopefully I’ll have my first book out in the early fall, and
then I’ll really know exactly how people feel about music being included in the
text of the book. Until then, I’ll have
to rely on my critique partners and writing friends to help me wade through
this subject I’m so passionate about.
