Lately my main goal has been editing and releasing all the Areane books and the books in Areane's sequel series, the Bright Knight Chronicles. I originally wrote the books in high school and, while I love the story lines, they've all needed a lot of work. The hardest part of the process has been getting back into the mindset I was in when I first wrote them. I've changed a lot as a writer in the past seven years. What inspires me now is very different than what inspired me then and I can't always remember what kind of emotion I was trying to portray. The only way I've been able to do it is by obsessively listening to the same music that inspired the books in the first place.
Just the other day I was asked how music inspires my work. It really got me thinking, because I don't know if I use music the same way other writers do. I mean, I wrote an entire backstory to four major characters in the Areane Journals by accepting a challenge to write a novella musical to the soundtrack of the Broadway play "Wicked." (Meaning the story could have been turned into a musical using the the Wicked soundtrack and the scenes had to appear in the same order the songs did on the CD.)
Depending on the kind of book I'm writing, music can create entire characters or plot points. A single line in a song has inspired an entire series. But everything has to be in place: the lyrics, the tempo, the singer's voice. It's like when I dance or choreograph. If something's missing, I move on. However, when it does all come together, it's the perfect muse. When I can find a group or CD that creates a kind of soundtrack for my series, it's magic.
When I was writing the Areane Journals and the Bright Knight Chronicles I was absolutely obsessed with Evanescence (am I revealing just how angsty I was back then?) I used a lot of other songs to write, but for the purpose of this blog, I'll keep to one group. There was something dark, poetic and tragic in Amy Lee's voice that really spoke to me. When I listened to some of her songs, entire scenes would unfold. The Bright Knight Chronicles wouldn't even have existed without a handful of Evanescence songs. I'll break them down one by one to illustrate exactly how I used them. If you want to listen to the songs, I included a playlist at the bottom of the blog.
First, my top three rules of using music for inspiration:
1.) It doesn't matter what anyone says the song is about. All that matters is what I imagine.
2.) The gender of the singer is often irrelevant. A song sung by a woman could easily be about a male character and vice versa. This also means that a song sung by a single person could become a duet in my mind.
3.) Use an entire CD or list of songs by the same group whenever possible. Strangely, it will keep a desired vibe consistent throughout the book series.
The songs are listed in order of when I used them in my books. I'll try hard to avoid spoilers.
"The Paladin's Choice" (Book 2 in the Areane Journals)
My Immortal:
This song spoke to me the instant it first came out. There was something haunting and tragic about it that I immediately knew I wanted to capture in one of my characters. I'm a total sadist as an author. I adore putting my characters through the emotional wringer. When I heard this song, I instantly thought of a woman whose lover has died. A few lines, however, caught my attention, in particular: "I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone. But though you're still with me, I've been alone..." Now, I know this line is probably supposed to be alluding to a break up, but that's not what I wanted. I'd already decided in my mind that the lover was dead. Now, how can someone who's dead still be with her? This thought ended up creating a major plot line for one of my main characters in the Areane series.
"The Dark Sorcerer's Return" (Book 3 in the Areane Journals)
Whisper:
Totally different vibe than "My Immortal." This song had everything I needed when writing my first torture scene. My favorite things to write: tragic love, angry mobs, crazy people and mental torture (I'm a sadist of an author, remember?) so it makes sense that my first torture scene, which happened to take place in an illusionist's castle, would be mental. "Whisper" plays like a running mental monologue for the character being tortured. And I know the latin at the end is actually a prayer, but it sounds like evil chanting. It was just exactly what I needed.
"The Enemy's Vow" (Book 4 in the Areane Journals)
Hello:
Sometimes, when a song really speaks to me, I create plotlines and characters purely to add the vibe of the song into the series. This practice has led to some of my favorite writing. I heard this song and, like "My Immortal," I immediately knew I wanted it somewhere in my series. It is so beautiful and tragic (with a bit of mental delusion mixed in, which I adore) but it didn't fit any of the characters I'd already written. I ended up creating a character to fit the song and that character launched an entire sequel series.
"The Thief's Last Battle" (Book 5 in the Areane Journals)
Bring Me to Life:
The song that launched a series. Seriously. The Bright Knight Chronicles would never have existed without this song. I can't say much more without spoiling the plotline in the book, but every single line in this song unraveled a different aspect of two main characters and created my books' take on the afterlife. In fact, there was a scene in "The Thief's Last Battle" that I had to edit quite a bit because it basically quoted lyrics in the song.
My Last Breath:
Another song that inspired a scene in my fifth Areane book. There's a section in the book that reveals backstories for a lot of characters, so I could create a playlist for that handful of chapters alone. This one became particularly important and also led to major plot points in the Bright Knight Chronicles. This is another song where random lines became extremely important, particularly "Look for me in the white forest hiding in a hollow tree." It's also incredibly tragic, so of course it had a place in my writing.
Going Under:
This scene ended up filling in a major hole in my plot. I needed to better understand one of the big bad's powers and the way he manipulated people. Enter "Going Under." I didn't dissect this song as much as the others. The first verse alone gave me everything I needed.
The Bright Knight Chronicles
Snow White Queen:
This song was crucial to creating the entire sequel series to the Areane Journals. Unlike the Areane Journals, The Bright Knight Chronicles only features one narrator and the storyline flows continuously through each book. At the heart of the main plotline is the relationship between the hero and the big bad (you'll have to read the books to find out who ;D ). To me this song is a duet. Their relationship is complicated. The hero both loves and hates the big bad. They're drawn to each other. An excerpt of how the song breaks down in my head:
Big Bad:
Stoplight, lock the door.
Don't look back.
Undress in the dark,
And hide from you,
All of you.
Hero:
You'll never know the way your words have haunted me.
I can't believe you'd ask these things of me.
You don't know me.
Big Bad:
You belong to me,
Hero:
My snow white queen.
Big Bad:
There's nowhere to run
Hero:
so let's just get it over.
Big Bad:
Soon I know you'll see,
You're just like me.
Don't scream anymore my love, 'cause all I want is you.
Yeah. I'm an odd duck. I create musical duets between my characters in my head. That's why this blog is called the life of an *insane* author :)
"Child of Him Who Ran" (Book 1 in the Bright Knight Chronicles)
Haunted:
I love the Reds in my Areane books. I have always been a big fan of vampire fiction and it was fun reinterpreting the myth my own way. Naturally, I wanted to feature a Red more prominently in the Areane sequel series, but I didn't want to do the same old thing. This song was obviously a vampire song. "Hunting you I can smell you: alive. Your heart pounding in my head." It's dark, hard and a little scary. Exactly the vibe I used when I originally created the Red's Island in the Areane Journals. But there's another major element to this song: the hunter being hunted. I liked the idea of putting one of my predatory, powerful, immortal Reds in the position of being prey. A major plot point of "Child of Him Who Ran" was born.
The rest of the songs on the list are still evolving in my mind. One of the major changes I made to the last book in the Areane Journals and the Bright Knight Chronicles was adding a brand new character. I'm still getting to know her, so naturally I turned to Evanescence songs I love but have yet to use in any of the books. Hopefully, drawing inspiration from the same sources that inspired the series in the first place will help the character fit in naturally. Perhaps one day, when you're reading through the second or third book in the Bright Knight Chronicles, you'll recognize where these songs fit in. Then again, maybe you won't :)
Launa
I told Aubrey to hold my cat and look crazy. It worked.
Remnants of the first shirt we tried to make Aubrey. It didn't fare so well.
My hair almost done. Aubrey rocked loose cornrows. I had to lay upside down at one point so she could reach one of the braids. I fell off the couch.
Or me?