Book Soundtracks
Many of us enjoy pairing music with what we are reading or writing. Sure, there are some folks who enjoy reading in complete silence to only focus on the story in front of them. But I think a lot of us prefer to put in our earbuds and add a soundtrack of our own to the story we’re reading. I know of some people who, when beginning a new writing project, take great pains to create a soundtrack especially tailored to their story. They’ll cherry-pick their favorite songs from their favorite artists, which they think are best tailored to their story, and construct a soundtrack.
The topic of soundtracks came to my attention recently when I saw a Galley Cat blog post about book soundtracks. When I saw the post, I initially thought that it would be about what I’ve already mentioned — creating a soundtrack for your writing project. Instead, the post is about a software tool that allows you to add sound effects, ambient noise, and music to e-books that you’re reading. This is an interesting thought, but I think the homemade, DIY versions of book soundtracks are more interesting.
There are times when I’m writing a certain type of scene, and I find a song that gives exactly the right emotional resonance to what I’m writing. Sometimes I just set that song on “repeat” while I’m writing a scene so that I can keep myself in the right mindset. Other times, I’ll create a playlist of songs that I can cycle through as I’m writing. These songs might correspond to certain characters, or might simply match the tone of the piece and the world that I’m writing within.
How about you? Do you ever create soundtracks for your writing projects? Is it something you might be interested in? Share your thoughts in the comments!
– Jet Fuel Blog Editor, Mary Egan
