This post is totally random, but I’ve been brain-deep in focusing on finalizing the playlist for the fifth book of The Black Wolf Series. It got me thinking about just how much I rely on music to motivate my creative momentum!

Music has always been a huge part of my life. My parents both love listening to and making music, so it has been a part of my environment since day one. I can play a few instruments (poorly) and can sing (in the shower or car, especially). But listening to music is my real joy.

Unfortunately, I can’t listen to music when I’m writing because it becomes a distraction. When I’m not writing, however, I find music to be especially inspiring. Certain lyrics, of course, can inspire thoughts or evoke emotions. More often, though, inspiration comes from the music itself. The feeling or mood the music gives me when I hear it is typically much more powerful than the content of a song.

I have so many playlists on my personal Spotify account. The entire Black Wolf series is sketched out in music – along with the next planned series (The Crown Series) and two other untitled, un-figured-out things I might write in the future! Plus there are the playlists of songs that haven’t yet found a home but are so good they’ll have to end up somewhere.

As I’ve been working my way through the rest of The Black Wolf Series, I’ve been zeroing in on which songs are inspiring me the most. I’ve got playlists full of tunes I’ve been chiseling down. It’s not really an idea of what songs *belong* to the books, but more of which pieces get me feeling the way I need to as I mentally walk myself through the plots and problems.

I’ve found playlists to be the most useful when I’m doing chores or getting ready for the day. It’s a shock how many ideas come to you when you’re washing your hair or loading the dishwasher.

You can take a listen to the finished playlists for Books One through Four here:

Black Wolf

Born Wolf

Blood Wolf

Broken Wolf

Over to you, friend! Does music inspire you? Do you use it to invigorate your creativity?