Music is integral to my writing process, especially when writing romance scenes or anything emotional. Since I am predominately a romance writer, one would assume my playlist is probably mostly sweet love songs, but love isn’t always happy. In order to write a piece with tension and grounded in reality, I need to explore all aspects of love.
Love can be painful, it can be happy, it can be unrequited, and it can be nonexistent, then there are also different types of love. There is the type of love one feels for a relative, love one may feel for oneself, and I like to conjure that through music. As such, my romance inspiration playlist is pretty varied in terms of genre, style, and even subject matter. Some pieces may not be a love song in the stereotypical sense. Some might say that my music choices are even more on the hate side of things, and I think that is important to consider for love as well since hate is often considered the antithesis of love.
I say all this because I want to help encourage those who may also use music for their writing to consider all aspects of your genre or topic. Don’t limit yourself to a singular genre or style. Expanding your music selection can help you see your own writing in a different light and give you a new way to explore the genre you are writing in.
If you are interested in my current playlist, you can check it out here:
Warning: I do listen to some explicit music in a wide variety of genres. Some songs could be triggering due to their content, including music that discusses suicide, domestic violence, and self-harm, among other difficult topics. Listen at your own peril.
I am always interested in new recommendations, so if you have any music you think I could add to my mix, please feel free to comment below and let me know. I can’t wait to see what music inspires you.