50 Songs to Listen to While Writing Your Novel
Every writer has hit a writing block and grappled desperately for their phone in order to find some inspiring music to write to - only to have 2 hours go by with no words written and no song picked. In order to avoid those moments in the future, I've devised a list of songs to add to your playlist for next time. There are five categories for five separate genres, so feel free to mix and match to create the perfect inspiring playlist for your work in progress.
1. Fantasy
Whether it's fixing plotholes or world building, a fantasy novel has a lot of involvement from the author to construct the perfect epic tale. Below are a variety of songs for any mood - if you need some light tavern tunes or if you need a mighty battle score.
"The Nightingale" - The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
"Traveler's Song" - Aviators
"Victorious" - Adrian von Ziegler
"Age of Wonders" - BrunuhVille
"The Last of His Name" - BrunuhVille
"Isengard Unleashed" - Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
"Flying Theme" - How to Train Your Dragon
"Kingdom Dance" - Tangled
"The Misty Mountains Cold - Low Bass Singer Cover" - The Hobbit (Geoff Castellucci)
"He's a Pirate (Extended)" - Pirates of the Caribbean
2. Sci-Fi
Sci-fi in media usually have some of the best soundtracks out there. So, for this list I was heavily inspired by a few great works of science fiction. The songs of this list have the perfect balance of a futuristic-style but also nostalgic beats that truly tie the themes of your novel together.
"Andromeda" - BrunuhVille
"Dream or Reality" - Revolt Production Music
"A New Dimension" - Revolt Production Music
"Dreaming in Technicolour" - Twelve Titans Music
"Time" - Inception (Hans Zimmer)
"Interstellar Main Theme" - Hans Zimmer
"No Time for Caution" Interstellar (Hans Zimmer)
"Across the Stars" - Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
"Connor Main Theme" - Detroit: Become Human
"Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" - Stranger Things (Journey)
3. Thriller/Horror
There's no better way to build up tension than high pitches, low drums, and string instruments. This playlist is ready to set the mood by introducing tension and anxiety through these songs and raise the stakes.
"Infected" - The Last of Us
"Vyapada (Anger)" - Secession Studios
"Maternal" - Silent Hill
"The Hunters" - The Last of Us
"Faceless Beast" - Daniel Garavini
"Something Wicked" - Ross Bugden
"Brother in Arms" - Mad Max: Fury Road
"The Unveiling" - Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen
"Symphony No. 5, Op. 67" - Ludwig Van Beethoven
"The Mole" - Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen
4. Romance
There are a million love songs out there - yet sometimes the mood to write one needs something more, something nostalgic, or whimsical, or devastating. This playlist has songs for the happiest and saddest moments of your work-in-progress and hope to inspire true love.
"Balcony Scene" - Romeo + Juliet
"Love in the Morning" - Ennio Morricone
"Merry Go Round of Life" - Howl's Moving Castle
"Je te laisserai des mots" - Patrick Watson
"Planetarium" - La La Land
"Two Skies" - Dirk Maassen
"Turning Page (Instrumental)" - Sleeping At Last
"I Can't Make You Love Me (Soft Jazz Version)" - Dr. SaxLove Music Experience
"Mrs. Darcy" - Pride & Prejudice
"The Notebook Main Title" - Aaron Zigman
5. Historical Fiction
Writing ballroom scenes and rainy love confessions requires special music. While all these songs are instrumental, these scores are arousing, inspiring, and evoking. It's the perfect background music for any scene and they're sure to bring your novel to life.
"The Four Seasons, Concerto No. 2 in G minor, RV 315 "Summer": III. Presto" - Vivaldi
"Little Women" - Alexandre Desplat (Little Women)
"Another Dance" - Pride & Prejudice
"Clair de Lune" - Claude Debussy
"Wildest Dreams (Instrumental)" - Bridgerton (Taylor Swift)
"Parliament Of Owls" - Agnes Obel
"Ave Maria" - Vladimir Vavilov
"III. Poco Allegretto" - Johannes Brahms
"Qi" - PHILDEL
Each playlist is saved as an image on my Pinterest here!