I am not sure if anyone else does this, but I create soundtracks for my stories.

Between working my regular 9 to 5, spending time with my family, and keeping up with the day-to-day maintenance of being a human, there is simply not enough time in the day to get as much writing done as I’d like, let alone work on my preferred projects. Still, I try to work on story development in the small ways I can. One of them being listening to music.

For nearly every project of mine, I create a soundtrack/playlist. Sometimes just for the story, other times for the characters themselves. This may sound silly and unproductive, and maybe you’re right, but it adds to the experience for me. Listening to music helps me visualize a scene or define its tone. I’m unsure about other writers, but I tend to play out scenes in my head like a movie. Adding music to that sometimes helps solidify the beats of the scenes I’m working on.

When it comes to creating a playlist for a significant character, music helps me get a better sense of who they are—their personality, there style. A lot of people define themselves by the kind of music they listen to. So, while creating a playlist for a character isn’t essential, it can be useful for embodying them—seeing how they would react to a certain situation or conversation.  

My Passion Project Playlist

As I’m working on my current passion project (a supernatural web-series), I’m slowly but surely crafting a playlist with music that fits the tone I’d like the series to have.

I don’t feel quite comfortable sharing the playlist yet, so instead, I’ll list a few of the songs I feel set the right tone:

“Typical Story” by Hobo Johnson

“TGIF” by K. Flay feat. Tom Morello

“Bad Moon Rising” by Creedence Clearwater Revival

“The Drug In Me Is Reimagined” by Falling in Reverse

“Boss Bitch” by Doja Cat

A somewhat mix of moods, but they each serve their own purpose. If you haven’t listened to these songs, I highly recommend doing so. Now I’m interested in knowing if you create soundtracks for projects you’re working on. If you do, I’d love to hear them! Share some songs that inspire you by leaving a comment down below!