Writing and Music: Why it’s Essential to my Creative Process and How I’ve Ruined Entire Albums for my Husband

“Writing and Music: Why it’s essential to my creative process and how I’ve ruined entire albums for my husband” by Helena Hunting

Once upon a time, before I spent my days sitting in front of a monitor, creating characters, worlds and stories, I worked in an office and had a colleague who didn’t like music. 

Those were the exact words that came out of his mouth: “I don’t like music.”

I paused, or rather recoiled would be a better way to describe my reaction, and quickly tried to school my horror-stricken expression into something more like curiosity. So I asked if he meant he didn’t like certain types of music. I mean I had to have heard him wrong. He couldn’t dislike all music. Maybe death metal wasn’t his thing, or pop was too upbeat, or alt rock was too heavy on guitar, or country too twangy, or classical too emotional. The options are endless. 

I couldn’t believe someone could dislike all forms of music. Maybe people favor certain genres, much the same way we gravitate to book genres, or cookie flavors (I love a good oatmeal raisin, particularly the ones made by my 95-year-old neighbor). But disliking all forms of music seemed . . . implausible to my music loving brain.

But no, he assured me that he didn’t listen to music. Ever. His drive to work was full of talk radio and news. Nothing with lyrics and a beat. Nothing to get lost in or bop your head to. No belting out the lyrics to a make-believe audience, with the inside of your car as your stage. It made me wonder if his wedding song (yes, he is married!) was a recap of a sportscast or NPR. 

I haven’t seen him since I left that job, but I think of him often, particularly when I’m picking my playlist for my next writing project.

I grew up listening to bands like The Cure, The Smiths, Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Pearl Jam, INXS, The Beastie Boys, The Tragically Hip (RIP Gord Downie, Canadian music icon), Portishead, Enigma—the list goes on and on—in a house where Tiffany, Debbie Gibson and all things Top 40 reigned supreme. As a result, my Walkman—which eventually became a Discman, and later an iPod and now Spotify—functioned as an additional appendage. I lived and breathed music in my teen years and nothing has changed as an adult. I feel songs in my soul. Music moves me. It inspires me. It makes me want to write. 

When I first started writing it was as a hobby. Like knitting, or cross-stitching, or doing puzzles. Even then, when I would steal an hour in the evening to put down words, music was as constant as the clickity clack of the keys on the keyboard. While writing those first few books, I would attribute a song to every chapter, similar to a chapter title. 

As writing evolved from a hobby to a career, the influence of music evolved right along with my writing process. As the shift from CD’s to online music began to take place, I traded my CD player for an online music subscription. The possibilities were endless. I no longer needed to hit skip on a song I didn’t particularly love. I could curate my playlist to be exactly what I wanted and needed. And have it on repeat without wearing out a disc.

As I outlined each book, I would create a playlist that helped set the tone and the mood of the story. It became a direct connection to the personalities of the characters and their journey. And when I wrote, that playlist would be on repeat in the background, a soundtrack to the story that helped feed my creative beast. 

If it took me two months to write that book, that’s how long the playlist would become part of the background noise. Sometimes I would adjust the playlist, adding songs that gave me fresh inspiration or deleting songs that no longer felt relevant.

Occasionally I had two playlists on rotation for variation depending on the part of the story I was writing, particularly if it was emotional and required music that would incite that specific emotion in me. At times, I would listen to one song on repeat for hours while writing a scene or chapter. It would encapsulate a particular feeling, or emotion and drive the scene forward. Needless to say, I’ve destroyed many artists and albums for my husband over the past decade. 

The music became something I stopped hearing, and turned into something I felt in the tone of the artist’s voice, in the cadence of the lyrics. It was lulling, emotional, inspiring and evocative. 

On a single playlist I include everything from violinist Lindsey Stirling, Canadian singer Tate McRae, to Zoe Wees and rapper NF. Normally, whatever I choose to add on a playlist has a direct connection to the characters and their story, and I’ll forever associate those songs with the book I was writing at the time. For me, music triggers my memory in the same way that scent does.

The smell of turpentine and paint will always remind me of my dad’s sign shop where I learned how to silk screen and paint signs in my teens, and the smell of cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon and freshly peeled apples will forever have me picturing my mom baking her apple pies. The same thing happens for me with music. For example, the song Scars by Boy Epic will always be associated with a particularly emotional scene in my next release, WHEN SPARKS FLY, which is coming out in September.  Every time I hear that song, I’ll think about Avery and Declan and their love story.

Music is such a powerful tool. It inspires my creative process in so many ways and has always indirectly and directly influenced my writing. So to the man I used to work with, you’re missing out.  

—

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Helena Hunting lives outside of Toronto with her amazing family and her two awesome cats, who think the best place to sleep is her keyboard. She writes all things romance — contemporary, romantic comedy, sports and angsty new adult. Some of her books include Meet Cute, Pucked, and Shacking Up. Helena loves to bake cupcakes, has been known to listen to a song on repeat 1512 times while writing a book, and if she has to be away from her family, prefers to be in warm weather with her friends. Learn more at https://helenahunting.com.

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WHEN SPARKS FLY

Charming, hilarious, and emotional…When Sparks Fly is Helena Hunting at her very best!

Avery Spark is living her best life. Between her friends, her sisters, and Spark House, the event hotel her family owns, she doesn’t have much time for anything else, especially relationships. She’d rather hang out with her best friend and roommate, Declan McCormick, than deal with the dating scene. But everything changes when she is in a car accident and needs someone to care for her as she heals.

Declan avoids relationships, giving him a playboy reputation that he lives up to when he puts a one-night stand ahead of a promise he made to Avery. While he may not have been the one driving the car, he feels responsible for Avery’s injuries and is determined to make it up to her by stepping into the role of caretaker.

Little did they know that the more time they spend in compromising positions, the attraction they’ve been refusing to acknowledge becomes impossible to ignore. When they finally give in to the spark between them, neither is prepared for the consequences. Their love is fragile and all it will take is a blow from the past to shatter it all.

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Category: On Writing