The Willow Playlist

Go fill your ears with the auditory equivalent of Willow. This is a small, condensed version of what I listened to while writing it. Be glad it's not the massive version (though I could totally set you up with that if you wanted).
Check it out here!

Alina

Music is one of the most important pieces of my writing process. Certainly more than Tetris. As such, I compile playlists every time I start a new project, because I know how much of an impact music has on my writing. It offers inspiration when the well runs dry, helps me to properly envision the scene, and is a good way to waste time while still telling people, "Leave me alone, I'm busy doing writer things."

I've already talked about two of the songs on my Willow playlist, but here's another. It's a slow, haunting melody that really worked well for the more emotional aspects of the story, of which there were many.

Seriously, guys, I'm an emotional wreck.

Worth it, though.

On Loop

While writing The Willow Queen, there were quite a few songs that I played constantly. I had two playlists set up for it, one with more modern songs, one that sounded more like a movie score, and it was fantastic. For this second project, I'm sadly lacking Spotify, so I'm just randomly sifting through music in the hidden realms within YouTube. Worth it.

Either way, here are two of the songs I had on repeat for The Willow Queen.

"Soldier On" by Temper Trap. It sort of became my theme song for my main character, and it became a major inspiration for the whole novel. It has a tremendous sort of strength that was channeled directly into the main character, and I think it affected it hugely. Not that I'm complaining.

"Metamorphosis 2" by Philip Glass was another major inspirational song. This one went on the playlist that sounded like a movie score, for good reason. It starts off a bit solemn, but there's the undercurrent of, I dunno, excitement, I think, running through it. I dunno, it just fit. I'm the writer, I say it works.

Also, while writing the book, I ended up listening to more Renaissance and traditional Indian music than I'd ever assumed I would, ever. These are things that happen.