Making a WIP Playlist: An Art Form
When you just get an idea for a story, you usually just have vibes. Making a playlist that encapsulates those vibes is a popular way of brainstorming amongst writers. It’s like the sister to making a Pinterest moodboard. I love making a playlist for my writing projects, and yet sometimes they’re trickier to make. Or maybe I just take this too seriously.
However, you deserve a well curated playlist that captures the tone, themes, characters etc. of your story. Not only can it help you hone in on what you’re hoping the story will accomplish (similar to a moodboard), it can give you inspiration, and is a great way to help keep your story in mind, through listening in your everyday life. So here is what I try to do in order to create a playlist that perfectly fits my WIP.
Let Yourself Cook
Personally, I can’t create a playlist for a WIP unless I have something written down for it. Whether it be an outline, or the beginnings of a draft, I need to get a glimpse of what my story actually is, before I can determine songs that fit it. I wonder if this is just a me thing; if other writers can have a vague sense of a story and already have songs that fit it, which they can use for inspiration. Sometimes songs inspire a story idea in me. However, it takes a while for that one song to actually grow into a playlist.
Discover New Music
I have to be honest, I’m really bad at this myself. I definitely want to take my own advice on this, because sometimes the music you want for the playlist is nothing like the music you regularly listen to. Sometimes the stars align, sometimes the song that initially inspires me is a song I love. So while my playlists do have songs I already listened to, the key to finding music that captures your WIP is to discover new music. Which I’m bad at. I love listening to the same song an infinite number of times! The idea of finding new music is overwhelming to me.
My main tip to help you find new music for your WIP playlist would be to view your playlist not just as a WIP playlist, but as the potential soundtrack for your novel. If if were a movie, what would be in the score? What would it actually sound like? My current WIP is a fantasy that largely takes place in a forest, and so on my playlist, I have a lot of folk songs on there. The instrumentals and vocals help give it a fantastical timeless feel which fits my WIP really well. For another WIP, I have a lot of electronic/techno music because it’s a sci-fi that takes place in a more futuristic setting. Narrowing down to a genre that will most likely emulate the genre/atmosphere of your book can be a good starting point. If you know of movies that are similar to your WIP, listen to the scores of those movies. Listening to film scores in general is a underrated way of getting inspired for your WIP.
Seeking out new music in general will help you compile your playlist. Like I said, curating a playlist can take time. And that’s a blessing in disguise. I feel like the main pitfall that’s easy to fall into is worrying so much about creating the perfect playlist, that you neglect actually writing your novel. WIP playlists are great for inspiration and brainstorming, but they shouldn’t overshadow the main work of writing.
I also found this great Substack post on how to curate a playlist, which you can read here! Hopefully those tips help you as much as they did for me.
My WIP Playlist
To finish off for today, I’d thought it be nice to share some songs I have on my fantasy WIP. This WIP is mainly set in a magical dark forest, so I try to find songs that fit that fantastical but foreboding vibe. There’s definitely more, but I don’t want to make my Spotify public. Maybe they’ll provide some inspiration for you as well, enjoy!
Photos used in Thumbnail: blocks on Unsplash