As I sit here listening to the original score of Top Gun from my boombox (yes, I’m a nerd) I let the opening song wash over me. The guitar riffs make my nerves buzz with excitement making me wish I could soup up the bass even more on my boombox to get the true movie feel out it. There’s nothing else out there like the 80s guitar sound and I love to blast it from the car or from my boombox.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m very musically minded. I can literally listen to a soundtrack and the entire movie will play in my head. Now, I have to have watched the movie quite a bit, BUT it doesn't take long for a catchy movie to stick with me especially if it has great music. A favorite for me is How to Train Your Dragon. It’s great on long trips, I just turn on the soundtrack and let the movie play out in my head. As I sit here typing, listening to Top Gun, I can tell you which part of the movie the songs go with. Soundtracks are always playing in my brain!
I could make a long list of movies that I have recorded in my head…The Lion King, Balto, The Hobbit movies, and many more. I am most partial to soundtracks from the 90s and on down. I really wasn’t sure why that was until I recently learned that a majority of current movies do not have songs written specifically for them. A lot of the music comes from other places and is then tailored to fit the movie. Somehow, I had unconsciously picked up on that because a lot of movies didn’t have soundtracks that were as personal. Weird right?
Soundtracks are extremely important to me for my writing. Some composers are definitely more my vibe than others. I’m enough of a nerd that I can watch a movie and recognize who wrote the soundtrack after just one or two time watching (no I don’t peek at the box!). James Horner is by far my favorite composer! I can almost always identify his music. Many of my stories are written to one of his soundtracks.
Another composer that I easily recognize is Basil Poledouris. He wrote the music for the Hunt for Red October, my favorite movie. He has a certain sound that he likes to use in his music, it’s like a signature or DNA. Most composers have a certain sound that you can recognize them by if you listen to them enough. John Williams does, Alan Silvestri, Hans Zimmer they all do.
Writers are the same way. You can feel their identity through what they write. We have a style that makes us unique. You can try to mimic others, but in the end the more you write the more you find your own voice. I love that everyone is unique! To me its honestly very comforting because I know what to expect. There might be different twists and turns, but the story still carries the signature of the author. I want to encourage anyone who is starting to write to not worry about finding their own voice. The more you practice it will come out on its own. Let your love of the craft be the most important part! Always strive to improve, but don’t let perfection be the goal because we should always keep learning.
List of Awesome Movie Soudtracks to Make Your Writing Better:
• Top Gun (original score) and Top Gun: Maverick
• How to Train Your Dragon
• The Lord of the Rings
• The Hobbit Movies
• National Treasure
• The Rocketeer
• Ford v Ferrari
• Balto
• Jaws
• Indiana Jones the Raiders of the Lost Ark
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
• 13 Hours
• Avatar
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• The Hunt for Red October
• The Magnificent Seven
• The 33
• Enemy at the Gates
• The Legend of Zorro
• Spirit Stallion of the Cimmaron
• White Fang
• Guardians of the Galaxy
• Stand By Me
• The Sandlot