That Sweet Story Inspiration /// Music Monday #104

Well, well, well. If it isn't time for another Music Monday post!

Our special song of the day just so happens to be . . .

"Red October" from the Audiomachine album Magnus

Composed by Danail Getz

Over the past week or so, I've had a sudden, huge burst of inspiration for writing one of my stories. It's called Maelstrom (stylized as ₼ÆⱠςƬⱤΩӍ), and I honestly have no idea why this story in particular has been like, "HEY! YOU SHOULD WRITE ME!" That's not to say that I didn't want to write it. I've got a lot of great ideas for it. It simply seemed very random, since I'd started it back in late 2016 and hadn't worked on it since early to mid-2017.

Of course, I had to act on this inspiration while it was fresh. I can't recall the last time I've really wanted to work on one of my stories (and trust me, I've got plenty of projects to choose from). So to keep the fire lit and stoke its flames, I did what any writer would've done: I looked at what I already had. I'd written only a few chapters so far, but I was pleasantly surprised by their quality. I also looked at what kind of worldbuilding info I'd gathered. It's not a lot, but it also helped put me on the path of, "I've gotta do this!"

There is, however, one thing that always pumps up my story inspiration to the max, and it boils down to a single, simple word: playlist. I'd already begun gathering songs to use/potentially use for my story. In fact, I've added to the document of music possibilities for the story, and it's become eight full pages of song ideas. I know, it's crazy and over-the-top. But better to have too many ideas than too few, especially since I'm still figuring out what overall direction I want the playlist to take. (Yes, I actually try my best to keep my playlists--especially the more recent ones--consistent in tone and instrumentation.)

Now, while it's all fine and good to add songs to a doc of potential playlist additions, I have no clue where most of them will be used in the story. Here's an insight into how my writer brain works. I'll find several songs ahead of time, usually randomly, and get ideas for certain scenes and how they'll play out based on the music. These tend to be for the beginning and the end of a story, with some middle stuff--but the plot points that get the story from that beginning to that ending are often fuzzy. I generally figure them out as I'm actually writing the story, although it can sometimes change depending on the project.

Enter this song (yes, we're finally getting to the point of this post). It's one of those that I stumbled upon in the beginning. It shot some kind of amazing idea right into my brain, and I was like, "Yes, this is perfect!" I knew that this would make the perfect villain theme. You see, the big bad of this particular story is actually two separate entities that are connected. There's the wild, raging Maelstrom that threatens to wipe out the entire kingdom/empire/still-settling-on-the-best-word-here. Then there's its master, Maalen. He's the captain of a cursed ship and its crew (very Pirates of the Caribbean-like, y'know?).

His first scene involves his ship rising from the depths of the ocean as a storm brews overhead, and he begins making his way toward the capital. I think the track does a lot to show that ominous progression of a ship surrounded by a storm slowly sailing toward the heart of the land, unleashing chaos in its approach and leaving destruction in its wake. The strings, percussion, and electronic elements all add to the sense that what's coming is to be feared. I also love how it ends so quietly, as if the malice in the villain's theme still hangs in the air among the ruins . . . and the dead.

So I know this ended up being me talking more about my story than the actual song, but seriously, I'm just so hyped for this. Yes, I know the story will have some challenges in writing it, from simply using the right sailing terminology to creating a main character who has to start off being a mix of unlikable and likeable before progressing more toward the unlikeable side while the reader still holds on to hope that he'll become more likeable again. But! Those potential concerns are outweighed by my passion for this project, which is partially fueled by songs like this one. It also helps to talk and rave and ramble with you, so thanks for allowing me to do that! I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I love that Music Monday is not only a time to share great music, but it's also a free space to chat about whatever's on my heart and mind.

What did you think of the song? Do you have songs that you go to when you need story inspiration? Do you want to see updates on my journey of writing Maelstrom? What about character art that I draw?