How often have you sat in your car, faced with your own emotions, and the song that comes on the radio echoes your thoughts perfectly? It flows into your blood, snags on those bits of sadness, pain or happiness that you feel, and adds a rhythm to your mood?
The more I dig myself into a scene I'm writing, the more I realize that somewhere, in the back of mind, I keep thinking of the soundtrack that would be playing during the movie. For instance, I just finished writing a scene where my heroine and hero parted ways and instantly, Sarah McLachlan popped to mind. Her sweet, sad lullabies seemed quite perfect for the tone of the scene.
And I realized, listening to different music at different times pulls out my moods, whether they be cheerful, melancholy, frantic… Whatever I feel I find mirrored in the music I'm drawn to in that moment. I've decided to use that to help me connect to the emotion in my scenes. Essentially I'm creating the soundtrack to my novel.
The song chosen for the heartbreak my hero and heroine are experiencing? Full of Grace by Sarah McLachlan. Test out the theory on your own scenes. Can you choose the song that would be playing in the background? You might find it surprises you by helping you identify exactly what emotions you want to convey.