Music and Writing

It used to be I could not write and listen to music at the same time. I always grew distracted by the lyrics, often singing along.

“Something in the way you love me won’t let me be.”

“His name was Rico, he wore a diamond. He was escorted to his chair, he saw Lola dancin' there.”

“Never was a cornflake girl. Thought that was a good solution.”

The lyrics of the song imposed themselves on my writing. I would either have to shut off the music or close down Word. To some degree, that still happens. But—like many writers—I use music as a tool for inspiration. And sometimes, a song comes along that seems to be perfectly written and composed for one of my characters.

I recently heard Dog Days Are Over by Florence and the Machine and immediately knew it related well to one of the major characters in my in-progress YA novel. Dog days are the hottest and most stagnant days of summer. Its meaning clearly plays itself out in inner conflict, as well. When Alexander (a major character) meets the main character, his dog days truly do seem to draw to a close.

Anyway, this prompted me to wonder if other writers match songs to their characters. Just curious.