Wednesday Blog Post: Songs and Writing

I'm a firm believer that every story has a soundtrack. Not in the sense of movie scores, exactly, but that certain songs remind me of certain pieces of a story and, whenever I hear them, it always gets me in the mood to write.

Take today, for example. I was driving to the bank when Howie Day's "She Says" came on my iPod. The original acoustic version from Australia, not the revamped one that appears on Stop All The World Now (both are great, but I favor the acoustic more). I wrote most of And You Tell Me I Am Home to Howie Day's albums, because it seemed to fit the mood I was going for. And the lyrics to "She Says" fit Zeke to a T:

And when she said she wants somebody else
I hope you know that she doesn't mean you
And when she breaks down and makes a sound
You'll never hear her the way that I do
And when she says she wants someone to love
I hope you know that she doesn't mean you
And when she breaks down and lets you down
I hope you know that she doesn't mean to

He's the guy Emma's always wanted, back in the picture for good. It's like he's giving the finger to Jay, so to speak, saying that he knows her better than Jay does.

As a matter of fact, I think this is a feeling that needs to be addressed more fully in the novel. I wanted it to be, but in retrospect, I don't feel that it was. A note for the revision, to be sure.

I could write for days about the impact music has on my writing. The little snippet today was enough to remind me that, hey, inspiration triggers everywhere, even when you're driving to the bank. Whether or not you take the time to listen to it is up to you.