MUSIC AND HOW IT RELATES TO WRITING
Amber Kizer, Guest Blog Post
I can write in silence and there are definitely times when I need that—especially during the editing and revision process when I’m focusing on how the words on the page sound to the ear. But during the creative parts, the drafting, music is an integral part of how I work. Talking about WILDCAT FIREFLIES specifically…
I went to the True Colors tour with Cyndi Lauper and the B52s when they came to Seattle several years ago. I do attend events and concerts because I’m doing research, or think a particular character likes something/someone. In this case, I enjoy their music personally and wasn’t attending for work reasons. But as most writers will vouch, everything is up for grabs when it comes to work. These aren’t moments I ever take for granted—the times when I’m in the right place at the right time to catch a thread of a story. Here’s what happened…The B52s started playing “Juliet of the Spirits” and I knew instantly this was an important song for me—within a couple of notes I knew it related to the next Meridian book, and then I heard the first verse and chorus and knew that the next Fenestra was named Juliet.
When I started writing about the glass artist Rumi, I knew he loved the B52s and was very familiar with their music. He is who introduces my Juliet to that song, without spoiling anything, it very much becomes her anthem in a critical time. Could I have written WF without that song—sure, I know I could have, but do I love having it connected to the outside world?—absolutely!
I knew that fireflies played a role in Fenestra lore and mythology; hearing Owl City’s “Fireflies” gave me the feel and emotion I needed for the story behind The Feast of the Fireflies that shows up in the book. Music adds layers to my creative process, allows me to get into the meat of the craft quicker, easier and more gracefully.
But beyond songs that have specific ties to the story, I craft playlists and when I say craft them, I mean painstakingly search for the right songs for scenes, characters, conflicts. For weeks, or months, or years (I have several lists going for books I haven’t written yet). And all I can say about how that works is that I know it when I hear it. I spend a lot of time on those “people who bought this also bought this” links that spiral out from one artist to another. Rarely, are songs I pick currently on the radio and most often they aren’t songs that I’ve heard attached to the movie or television show—simply because they already have a connotation to me if they do.
The soundtrack for WILDCAT FIREFLIES includes the artists: Angels and Airwaves, Within Temptation, Matt Morris, Enya, Aine Minogue, Will Stratton, Loreena McKennitt, Secret Garden, Ophelia of the Spirits, Anuna, and On Yoolis Night. All told there are 121 songs on the list and they are mixed up—not all of an artist’s work makes it, sometimes only one song might have the correct feel. I also get recommendations from fans who think a group “sounds like” MERIDIAN or Gert Garibaldi who is the star of my 7 KINDS OF ORDINARY CATASTROPHES.
Each book is different—the playlist for MERIDIAN is different from WILDCAT FIREFLIES and different still from book three in that series. By the time I’m finished writing, revising, editing, polishing and then working a book through production, I’m usually so tuned into those songs that I can’t listen to any of them without flipping into work mode—and sometimes I’m quite sick of them! Which is okay because there is always a new book to work on, a new playlist to build, new artists to discover and fall in love with. And no, I am not an aspiring song writer or musician—just a very happy fan who is grateful there are many wonderfully talented musicians out there sharing their gifts. I’ll stick with books!
Have a suggestion or artist you think I should hear? Email me, I’d love to hear from you,
Amber@AmberKizer.com
This post is part of the Wildcat Fireflies book tour hosted by The {Teen} Book Scene
