As a writer, listening to music inspires me. It helps me set the scene and visualize my characters. Most days, I have my own song-of-the-day that kinda of depicts my mood. Maybe this is how I connect with my characters through music. It’s hard to explain really.
The white-padded room version is that my characters tell me their theme songs. All I have to do is listen to the radio or a playlist and one of them will speak up and say, “Hey! That’s my song for this scene and here is why.” I’m usually grabbing my iPhone to jot down notes right after.
I’ve spent the last few weeks thinking about Dylan’s theme song. I don’t know why I’ve struggled with this. He’s a musician. I should have this down. Maybe it’s the fact that throughout the book, Dylan will have many different songs to represent him and his emotions, but to sum him up in one song is difficult for me.
So instead, I’ve found a song that would be an introduction for him. When we first meet Dylan in What the Heart Wants, he’s facing a lot of inner conflict and confusion. His riding the line of reality between what is real and what is not.
I heard this song by Crossfade the other day and Dylan finally spoke up. It was is if I could see him, sitting alone in his room with his head hung low, trying to figure out the madness he calls his life. When this song came on, his head slowly rose. He glanced at me and said, “This is it. Look up the lyrics to this song.”
So I did. As my eyes poured over the lyrics, my skin tingled. This song describes Dylan’s state of mind in the beginning of my novel. I don’t know that I could find a better song for him even if I wrote it myself, so thank you Crossfade for helping my hero out. He and I really appreciate it. Hope you enjoy the song.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhf59O0ASx8[/youtube]