Where Inspiration Lurks

I’m one of those lucky people that suffers from migraines – thankfully I don’t get them as often as I used to, but I had them on what seemed like on a weekly basis in elementary school. If you’ve ever had one, then you know the struggle of praying for the unconsciousness of sleep, but being in too much pain to actually have it happen. As a child, the only thing that would help put me to sleep was a recording of Pachabel’s Canon. To this day, it still calms me, and makes me feel like all is right in the world. 

Music has always been a massive part of my life – I’ve played multiple instruments, and have always been happier when music is present. When we would go on car trips as a family, I would “entertain” everyone by singing my way through the score for Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables. At age 9. I’m still sort of surprised my family didn’t make me walk the rest of the way. I’m constantly on the search for new tunes, and about the only genre that doesn’t appear in my music library is polka.

It’s also had a major impact on my writing – I find much of my inspiration for stories and characters in the verses of what’s coming through my headphones. Each of my novels have their own playlists – they start out ridiculously long (as in, it could play for days without repeating a song), but get whittled down as the story is written and edited. I also have them for my characters. It’s not a true playlist, as it tends to be a handful of songs that speak to me about each of my characters – be it motivation, backstory, or a pivotal scene that they are in.

Here’s the song list for one of my favourite characters in my current project:

It’s the Fear – Within Temptation
The Resistance – Skillet
Muddy Waters – LP
I Apologize – Five Finger Death Punch
The Night – Disturbed
Far From Home – Five Finger Death Punch
Face Everything and Rise – Papa Roach

What clues does this list give you into my character? What songs have inspired you? How has music shaped your story?

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to imagination, and life to everything. “ – Plato