Welcome to April 2026. As I have the last ten years or so, I’m participating in the A to Z Challenge, so if that’s what you’re looking for this morning, scroll down. It went live before this post.
In some countries, including mine, the first day of April is called April Fools Day where people play practical jokes on others. In my case, I have a niece and a nephew, one year apart in age, both born on this date. Needless to say, they’ve taken a significant amount of ribbing over the years.
This month’s question mentions a playlist or songs to motivate me to write. I’m almost ready to start singing Christmas songs again. “The weather outside is frightful…” and it is. Rain in the morning, snow in the evening, back to rain and snow the next day. The only thing that motivates me to do is stay in bed.
Here is this month’s question: If you have a playlist (or could put one together) that either gets you in the groove to write or fits with one of your books, what is it? What type of music or what songs?
Short answer, I do not listen to music when I write. I prefer working in absolute silence. Even bird song, the sound of lawnmowers, or other machinery is distracting. That being said, I often reference songs in my novels when the words I’m writing trigger a memory. When that happens, the songs will be classic rock ones. A newer song might slip in, but those are few and far between.
That tendency is most visible in my novel, Same Time Next Year, which is essentially an older woman writing her memoir, specifically of the events of the summer of 1967 that changed her life. The story is in third person when dealing with current times, and then the voice becomes first person for the memoir. Unlike me, Twyla has a playlist, a gift form her granddaughter, and goes through it as she recounts that time in her life. Here’s an excerpt to show you how I used the music from my youth and memories to create the story within the story.
After doctoring her coffee the way she liked it, Twyla felt that writer insecurity, that fear of failure that dogged each new novel, plague her once more. No matter how many books she wrote, she always started a new one wondering if she was crazy to be doing it, but this time instead of nagging whispers, the voices screamed. Maybe the whole idea was too preposterous to work. Seriously, who would want to read about old-fashion ideas and a young girl’s first love? She huffed out a breath. She would have liked to have had that chance, if only to learn from someone else’s mistakes and avoid the quagmire she’d stepped in.
Reaching for the USB Lana had given her, she plugged it into her laptop and opened it to reveal the list of songs it contained. Normally, she worked in silence, but since none of her usual methods and quirks worked, maybe this time, she needed inspiration from elsewhere.
Sounds of “The Letter” filled the room. Closing her eyes, she listened to the Box Tops. Why hadn’t Michael moved heaven and earth to come for her the way the lyrics said? She’d sent him the letter. Why had he never answered it?
As Frankie Valli’s voice filled the room with “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You,” she began to type.
While I do refer to music in other novels, I haven’t done it this completely in any other work. I still prefer working in silence.
What about you? Do you enjoy working in slience or do you need background music to motivate you?
Check out other responses to this month’s questions here.
https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html
Living the Dream 