NaNoWriMo Day 27: Your Writing Playlist as a Writing Prompt
Image by Dollar Gill on Unsplash
If you can write with music playing and you happen to be struggling in these final days of NaNoWriMo, using your writing playlist as a writing prompt could help. Earlier this month, I needed help mustering content while ill. So, I put my playlist on random and let the music move me.
I free-wrote within the topic of the novel for about ten minutes, then the emotions and the words started to flow. The dialogue found life, the characters began to interact again, and I felt on track once more.
I feared I would have the same issue the following day, so prepared to do the same. But, instead, I found that the exercise the night before had triggered something in me, and I was ready to keep writing.
If you don’t have a good Spotify playlist for your novel yet, I highly recommend creating one. I know, we’re almost done. But that playlist could not only help you finish out the month and hit that word goal, but it could be helpful as you edit and revise the novel later on.
Here’s an older one of mine for upbeat scenes to give you an idea of what this playlist might look like.
- “Help Me Ronda” (Beach Boys)
- “Do You Wanna Dance?” (Beach Boys)
- “I’m a Believer” (Monkees)
- “Roll Over Beethoven” (Beatles)
- “Da Doo Ron Ron” (Crystals)
- “Love the One You’re With” (Chris Tart)
- “Two of Us” (Beatles)
- “Then He Kissed Me” (Crystals)
- “Kashmir” (Led Zeppelin)
- “Johnny B. Goode” (Beatles)
- “Rock and Roll Music” (Beatles)
- “Vertigo” (U2)
- “Besame Mucho” (Beatles)
- “The Face” (Accidental Charm, a DC area band)
- “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” (Queen)
- “If Looks Could Kill” (Heart)
- “Can’t Buy Me Love” (Beatles)
- “Luanne” (Foreigner)
- “And Your Bird Can Sing” *Beatles)
And for my emotional, deep scenes, my heavier, more moving writing playlist:
- “Mystified” (Zombies)
- “I Need the Rain” (Heart)
- “Sunday Bloody Sunday” (U2)
- “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” (U2)
- “Gone But Not Gone” (Accidental Charm)
- “Lonely Wind” (Kansas)
- “Dust in the Wind” (Kansas)
- “Fell on Black Days” (Soundgarden)
- “Here Comes the Sun” (Beatles)
- “Sanctuary” (Zombies)
- “Anna (Go to Him)” (Beatles)
- “Julia” (Beatles)
- “Rain” (Beatles)
- “Baby Blue” (Badfinger)
- “Hey Jude” (Beatles)
- “Spanish Harlem” (Mamas and Papas)
- “Dream a Little Dream of Me” (Mamas and Papas)
- “Rhiannon” (Fleetwood Mac)
- “Psalm 139” (Fernando Ortega)
- “Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus)” (Chris Rice)
- “My Place is With You” (Clay Crosse)
- “February Song” (Josh Groban)
- “Broken Vow” (Josh Groban)
- “Home to Stay” (Josh Groban)
- “Table for Two” (Caedmon’s Call)
- “Show Me” (Audrey Assad)
- “Never Alone” (Barlow Girl)
- “Place of No Return” (Mindy Boyd)
- “Sweet Jesus” (Selah)
You can choose songs with lyrics or without for your writing playlist. Just pick songs that help move you forward emotionally in your scenes.
Looking for more writing inspiration? Check out these other offerings from the MockingOwls.
- Romance Writing Prompts
- Writing Games
- Writing Sprints to Break Through Writer’s Block
- Ways to Keep the Inspiration Going
- When I Don’t Know What to Write
Editor-in-Chief of The MockingOwl Roost, Rita Mock-Pike is the granddaughter of aviatrix, Jerrie Mock, first woman to pilot an airplane solo around the world. Rita has found inspiration from her grandmother’s life and flight and pursued many of her own dreams in theatre, podcasting, novel writing, and cooking up delicious food from around the world. She now writes on food, travel, pets, faith, and the arts. She’s happily married to Matt, and faithfully serves the very fluffy kitten queen, Lady Stardust.
