Life With Music

I always find it fascinating to hear what other writers listen to while they write. Sometimes I need music in the background, sometimes a certain song speaks to me of a certain scene, or an artist really connects with a particular character or story for me, but there are also times when I need the quiet, too.

One thing that has developed out of this connection between word and music for me is the addition of chapter titles to my manuscript. Since I tend to think up stories that involve music in some way-- whether the characters themselves are musicians or are just music-lovers-- I started adding song titles as chapter titles when a song strongly connected to a scene for me.

In my finished manuscript, Broken Glass, the hero is a bass player in a punk band, so I chose chapter titles from various punk artists-- from the Ramones to Sum41. I like the dynamic it has added to the story, and I'm curious if anyone else will pick up on the true origin of the chapter titles. We shall see.