You’ve probably seen a meme prompting for a response to answer a question along the lines of “What song defines your life?” My standard answer is “It Don’t Come Easy” by Ringo Starr of Beatles fame.

Regardless of how silly it may be to refer to a popular tune to describe one’s life, it’s not so far-fetched to think that our lives are filled with the music we play according to specific times. An easy example is the annual holiday season running from Thanksgiving to Christmas–beginning before Halloween in many retail establishments–during which Christmas carols and similarly themed music is played constantly. Christmas music fills our holidiay season with cheer and good will, whether natural or forced.

Many people play their favorite soundtracks while working. My older son enjoyed listening to “eighties dance music” with his friends. My younger son enjoys country and hip hop. I use different genres of music when doing different activities. From the radio, housework gets classic rock ‘n’ roll, although I’ll happily listen to country while driving or washing the dishes. When reading, I tune into YouTube’s vast library. My tastes run to Big Band, classic rock, Big Band–gotta love Glenn Miller’s “In the  Mood!”–and baroque music. 

When I’m writing my own stories, the genre of what I’m writing often determines what I listen to. Writing fantasy and fantasy romance, I find my tastes in music leaning toward Celtic music, the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit soundtracks, and the like.

Especially while writing when I don’t want to be distracted by commercials every couple of minutes, I’ll put on certain channels or movie soundtracks. As I write this, I’m listening to the soundtrack from The Last of the Mohicans, one of my favorite movies, although it’s been years since I’ve watched it. The soundtrack from Pirates of the Caribbean also makes for good music by which to write.

It’s interesting to read books that mention specific music. I’ve noticed this usually happens with younger authors who reference contemporary songs rather than classics which endure throughout the decades or even the centuries. I usually don’t recognize those songs the authors reference, but that’s okay. Sometimes the mention inspires me to look up the song. I usually find that it’s not something I particularly enjoy, but it never hurts to try out a new tune.

Sometimes I’ll select a song I particularly want to hear on YouTube and let it run throught the selection it deems appropriate. That’s how I discovered the not-so-dulcet tones of Disturbed. Their rendition of Simon and Garfunkle’s “Sound of Silence” is haunting. I think Disturbed does it better than Simon and Garfunkle did. That’s also how I discovered Five Finger Death Punch. Their music has hidden depths, and I appreciate their patriotism.

I’ve noticed that seasons also affect my musical preferences. Summer is country and rock, hands down. With fall comes the intricate strains of classical music from Vivaldi and Haydn to Rossini and Chopin. Winter adds in Celtic music with periodic forays into sixties rock from the Zombies’ “Time of the Season” to Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walking.” We can also throw in funky outliers the The Dead South and Theory of a Deadman.

I seldom seek out music more recent than 2000. I detest hip hop and rap. I occasionally catch newer groups like Imagine Dragons on the radio, but most of that doesn’t seem to have the same resonance that older music does. I recognize that opinion puts me solidly in the “old fogeys” category along with those gray-haired grouches who shout at kids to get off their lawns. I’m like Waldorf and Statler when it comes to the music of the last twenty years.

We all prefer the music we grew up with, the music that defined our youth. I’m no exception to that rule of preference, even if my tastes are varied.

Several years ago, I learned my mother like country music, the music of her youth. It surprised me, because we didn’t have a single country album in the house while I was growing up. We had Perry Como and his ilk. My father enjoyed the Beach Boys, Carole King, Carly Simon, Crosby Stills & Nash, and the Eagles. Being a daddy’s girl, I loved their music, too. I still do.

Music forms a backdrop to our lives that no movie producer ever ignored. The music we hear becomes connected to particular times of our lives. We revisit the music that keys into those good feelings and the music that seems to express our sorrow or anger. Music conveys emotion and attitude, and the lyrics tell stories within our stories.

New authors especially don’t necessarily understand the time it takes to produce a good book. Any craptastic piece of content can be created and published almost instantaneously, but a good story properly formatted and enhanced by a good cover takes time. It may take a lot of time.

The journey of Double Cut is one such example. Writing the story actually took less time than I anticipated; I finished a month early. However, editing will take longer than I hoped due to the revisions I’ll be making. There are some key points that I flubbed in the draft. Then there’s the cover.

The first designer I hired for the cover was the only one who responded to my request for proposals (RFP) with something other than a glib “Hey, I can do this. Hire me.” I liked her portfolio of work and sent her the draft cover blurb (still not finalized), the chapter-by-chapter synopsis, and the cover to Triple Burn. Double Cut is the sequel and will be the second book in what’s likely to become a new series. Triple Burn has a gorgeous cover and I want Double Cut to align with that.

Designer #1 submitted four concepts. They weren’t what I was looking for at all, so I apologized for not providing sufficient information and gave her further direction. That direction included hyperlinks to other books in the genre for inspiration. She responded with a request to cancel the project as it was beyond her ability. I thanked her for her honesty and canceled the project. No harm, no foul.

Learning from that experience, I hopped into another platform and uploaded my RFP, making sure to be explicit in my expectations. Another designer agreed to do the project. Again, I looked at her portfolio and liked her work. She submitted a draft that was … awful. Don’t get me wrong, the work was technically proficient. The image itself was hideous. So began a long process of explanation and revision until we hit what I would say is 95% there.

Basically, it came down to 95% of what I want is better than 100% of what I don’t want. So, I accepted delivery of the project and paid.

Not only do I have a cover for Double Cut, I have the manuscript back from the editor. I’ll begin working on revisions, although I can’t help but bask in her praise: “Wow! I really liked this book. The pace was perfect; the book full of action. Absolutely no lulls or sagging momentum in the story arc. No plot holes that I detected. Very engaging! … But the bottom line is I think this is one of your most tightly written stories and I very much enjoyed it. I didn’t want it to end.”

​I couldn’t ask for better feedback.

Look for Double Cut to go on sale for pre-order in February.

Perusing various writing groups nearly every day, I come across a lot of “newbie” writers who ask whether they are allowed to write certain things. I’m tempted to respond like an English teacher: “I don’t know, can you?”

Other than the ongoing problem of confusing “can” with “may,” the answer is simple: yes. Yes, you may write whatever your heart desires. Yes, you may write what you need or want to express yourself. Yes.

I write romantic fiction. Some people have seen fit to inform me they do not read fiction. One stated that he read the truth. There’s no good response to that. I could have explained that Jesus used parables (stories) to impart truth, but that the stories He told were not, in essence, factual. Truth does not alway mean fact. Unfortunately, such explanations don’t go over well. Anyway, the folks who decline the pleasure of reading fiction aren’t interested in what I write and aren’t my customers.

That’s fine. I don’t feel the need to justify my literary preferences in reading or writing to make them happy. They have no obligation to justify theirs to me. We vote with our wallets. He who sells the most books wins.

I’ve spoken with even more people who tell me they don’t read romance. It’s trashy. It’s unrealistic. It’s … insert whatever pejorative you want. I’ve pointed out to some that every fiction genre has romance. The greatest literature in the world encompasses romance. I’m not referring to romance as the big, commercial genre, but romance as the story of a developing romantic interest. The big difference between those other books and romance is that romance (as a genre) focuses on the developing romantic relationship.

Consider The Odyssey. It has Jason doing his best to return home to his beloved wife, Penelope, despite indulging in a few affaris along the way. What about Shakespeare? It’s hard to find one of his plays that doesn’t involve romance, especially when they end in tragedy. Do you like mystery? Detective novels? Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series weaves in the romance between Spenser and Susan. How about science fiction? You’ll find plenty of romantic subplots there, too. Urban fantasy and super hero stories? Check out the romance between Peter Parker and Mary Jane, or Peter Parker and Felicia.

Even villains get romance. In the GI Joe movies and the old cartoons, Destro and the Baroness can’t keep their hands off one another. Okay, that’s probably more lust than love, but still …

Write what you want and understand that writing what you want isn’t the same as writing to market. Writing to market is writing to cater to the expectations of the genre’s devoted readers. This entails using the genre’s familiar tropes, character archetypes, and standard plot devices. Writing to market follows the genre’s formula.

Consider the cozy mystery. The progatonist, usually a quirky personality, introduces himself or herself. The protagonist stumbles upon a dead body and somehow becomes embroiled in solving the whodunit. After clues, a few red herrings, some conflict with local law enforcement and perhaps a neighborhood influencer, and a spot of danger to ramp up the tension, the truth comes out, the crime is solved, and the protagonist survives a little worse for wear to go on and solve the next crime.

Writing to market or formulaic writing need not be castigated as poor storytelling. Truth be told, there really aren’t any new or original plots. They’ve all been done before. What makes a tired old plot fresh is how the author treats it. An author’s spin on the old plot introduces new aspects, interesting personalities, and fresh details. There’s a lot to be said for writing to market, because readers like to know what they’re getting when they buy your book.

So, write what you want. That’s not to say that someone will want to read what you write. There’s no guarantee that what you write won’t offend others: it probably will, especially these days when people are looking for triggers to offend them. This, I think, is what will separate the dilettantes from the diehards: those who continue to write despite the pearl-clutching exclamations of offense. If you can’t handle the critics whose delicate sensibilities you offend, you won’t last long as a storyteller.

Just make sure that, regardless of what you write, you pursue excellence.

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