A Soundtrack for Filling the Cracks
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A soundtrack for every story
Since I began writing fanfiction online, before I started writing original fiction, I used to create a soundtrack for each story similar to the soundtracks produced for blockbuster movies. I’m not as avid a moviegoer now as I was in my teens and twenties, so I’m not sure if blockbuster movies produce music soundtracks for the mass market anymore (yes, I’m showing my age, lol). Still, in the eighties and nineties, every colossal box office hit also spawned a soundtrack of musical hits. Think of movies like “Footloose,” “Top Gun,” “Dirty Dancing,” or “Batman (1989)” for examples. I would assemble audio playlists on my laptop of current and past hits that suited the theme and plot of my stories. No one else would hear these, but I would play them as I wrote to help me focus and be a source of inspiration. Since writing original fiction, I haven’t done that in a while, but I decided it might be fun to create a soundtrack for Filling the Cracks and share my selection with you.
A Matter of Taste and Perspective
You may or may not agree with my choices for my soundtrack for Filling the Cracks. It’s quite a subjective process! I decided it would be fun to restrict the playlist to those songs that came out right around the time the story is set, so I selected both Contemporary Christian and secular songs that were hits in 1983 and 1984 to go with the story's setting. The playlist would be much different if I didn’t restrict myself to that period. Most songs were selected for various reasons, including the general mood and sound and how some lyrics might relate to the story’s plot, theme, or characters.
My Filling the Cracks Soundtrack:
Here are the songs I selected for my soundtrack for Filling the Cracks, in no particular order of significance:
1. Maneater – Hall and Oats
2. And You Know It’s Right – David Meece
3. Abba Father – Michael Card
4. Back on the Chain Gang – The Pretenders
5. Pray for Me – B.J. Thomas
6. Love’s Not a Feeling – Steve Camp
7. Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen
8. He Will Carry You – Scott Wesley Brown
9. Friends – Michael W. Smith
10. Beat It – Michael Jackson
11. In A Little While – Amy Grant
12. Keepin’ My Eyes On You – Twila Paris
What do you think?
Do you like my choices, or do you hate them? Do you think they’re just “meh?” What songs would you choose as a soundtrack to Filling the Cracks? Do you think that will change as the story is later revealed? I’m excited to hear your comments and constructive criticism in the comments section below. Please don’t leave without telling me what you think! Do you write fiction and create musical soundtracks for your stories? Share some of your ideas with me below. Subscribe to my monthly email newsletter to keep up with everything happening on my website and blog. Share this blog with your friends and family, and if you haven’t already, check out Filling the Cracks starting with chapter one here.
An Announcement:
Thank you again for reading. My website and blog will majorly change in the coming weeks. After much consideration, I’m changing my brand and platform from “Jenni Roman” to my real name, “Pauline J. Grabia.” This change will take effect as of September 1, 2023. My content will remain, as will the blog and what you can expect from my website. All that is changing is the domain name and name of the site, reflecting my decision to use my real name as my author’s name rather than a nom de plume.
Thank you again for reading, and may God bless you richly!
Pauline