I like stories where one or both characters have lost in love. Maybe one of them feels broken. What about this line from Rihanna’s song Stay?
“Funny you’re the broken one, but I’m the only one who needed saving.”
That is crying out for a story. In the past year, song lyrics have inspired some stories.
I can’t listen to music when I write, the words or the instrumentals distract me more than having on TV for background noise.
Several authors mentioned doing playlists for their characters. I tried that for a few of my books, but it didn’t help much. Except the Jonas brothers I’m a Sucker for You.
John Hawthorne was amazed to see Hailey again and furious he never knew he had a son. But the old feelings were still there. That song fit him perfectly.
It’s true authors get ideas everywhere. Watch a movie and we wonder if a few scenes were changed—would it end differently? Or we want to the know the story behind a secondary character.
Now, I’m getting inspiration from lyrics. In Holiday Magic, Heard it through the Grapevine (the Marvin Gaye’s version) helped me understand how hurt Jesse was when Trent lied and said he and Claire were together again.
Recently I heard She Drives me Crazy by the Fine Young Cannibals. That will be the woman in the novella that kicks off the next series. I feel sorry for the hero!
I never know when a song lyric I have heard hundreds of times will suddenly inspire a character or at least a part of their personality.