I was tagged over on my Tumblr blog for a music-themed writing game. The rules are: Now, not all of us listen to music while writing, but sometimes there’s just this tune that matches something in our story—whether that’s a character, a chapter, or the whole WIP (a theme song, even). Maybe it’s multiple songs! Share one or more songs that “go” with your story. It just has to be cool.

I love sharing songs! I have a playlist going on Spotify where I put the songs that inspire me to write. I can't listen to music while actively writing because I need total silence to be able to concentrate, but listening to a playlist puts me in the mood to write. Since I’ve been working on just book 1 (Colorweaver) lately, I’ll share a few songs that make me think about the main characters and their relationships, both platonic and romantic, as of that book.

“One of Us” - New Politics 

Everybody needs a place to call their home
Everybody’s skin is different, not their bones
Even when you’re lonely, know you’re not alone
You’re one of us, one of us, one of us
One of us 

“The Lucky Ones” - Brendan James 

On the edge of a moment,
 In the land that we love,
 In the time that our best has to be good enough,
 Like all those before us, we start out alone,
 We race from our schoolyards, into the unknown
 City lights, as far as the eye can see,
 You and I, we will live differently 

These two songs really put me in the mood for writing about my characters in general. One of the themes of this trilogy is found family and learning that home is the people you’re with, not a physical place. Another theme is growing up: the characters are all adults, but they’re still young and they’re finding their place in the world. These two songs hit both of those themes really well and both are so optimistic/positive! (And as a bonus, the singer in the second song is how I picture my main character Adair’s voice.)



“Never Been in Love” - Cobra Starship 

That stupid party talked outside
Walked to your place stayed up ‘til 5
You’d never think a random night could change your life
I know now I’ve never been in love before
I know now I’ve never been in love before you
We all need a light in the dark
Come and spend the night in my heart

Now the romantic songs. This song makes me laugh because it’s so perfect if you look at it from a non-sexual perspective. (I'm an asexual writer writing a triad where one of them is asexual. Yeah, not in the slightest bit my thing to write suggestive stuff.) The trio meeting was entirely an accident. Adair ended up at their carnival then he, Etri, and Blythe spent the night talking. After that they’re pretty much attached to each other and it’s a disaster when they have to be apart- all because of a random meeting.


 “Don’t Let Go” - Swiss American Federation feat. Jimmy Wong 

Catch our breath, slow it down and look within
As darkness falls away from us to block the sun from edging in
Spill our secrets from within
Is now the time, will you be mine
Don’t let go, this is for the rest of my life
So believe we don’t need to rush
We’ll be free

This song is just so pretty! I feel like it just resonates so well with the trio’s relationship at the end of book 1, moving into book 2. And yeah, most of the trio songs on my playlist have a dark/night/star theme because of Etri, the goth with shadow magic.


“Unsteady” - Enter the Haggis (Jubilee Riots) 

The first time I saw you I was broken and bruised
You were holding up the bar and I had nothing to lose
It’s all a little hazy now, tell me
When did we get so damn proud?
Made a few mistakes, but I made them with you
And every time we said that we were gonna pull through
Something feels different now and it’s not me 

Not a trio song, I swear! This is my Firedrake/Talan song. Talan’s the “antagonist” in book 1 and this song is just so very much this pair’s relationship, from how they met to where they are now. This relationship starts to fall apart throughout book 1 and boy have there been mistakes lol.


I'm going to pass this on to anyone who sees this and wants to come up with a short playlist for whatever they're working on right now. This is a lot of fun! Do you writers pick songs that remind you of your characters or stories?

~Meri