Spotify Playlists for Writers (and Readers...ANYONE!) + GIVEAWAY

UPDATE: On Valentine’s Day my mom rang the chemo bell. At the end of February she was hospitalized for two nights due to complications. The beginning of March she completed radiation. Then she had a CT scan done that showed the tumor in her lung has shrunk from 5.5cm to 2.2cm. She has started once-a-month immunotherapy treatments to continue to kill cancer cells and maintain the positive outcome of her previous treatments. ❤️ Thank you for all of your prayers and kind thoughts. Its not over yet, but this is great news. Continued prayers appreciated. ❤️

📣 ANNOUNCEMENT 📣 

I am a judge for the Florida Writers Association’s annual Royal Palm Literary Awards, and I couldn’t be happier! When I looked into the contest, I was pleased to see their diversity statement, the fact that they implement diversity training for all judges, have an LGBTQ+ category for fiction and non-fiction, and have separate categories for young writers so they can enter and see their dreams realized, too. This is a competition I can support and am honored to be a judge for.

I have judged three entries already, which is the amount we must judge before announcing we’re a judge. I can’t say which genres/categories I’m judging, but I will say that it’s several. I am looking forward to reading more entrants and seeing the winners announced later this year.

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While I was participating in NaNoWriMo last year, I was also creating a bunch of playlists for writers. I updated the Playlist page on my website.

On Spotify, you can see the full playlist and also follow it by clicking the heart icon. The widgets below only go up to 100 songs, and some of the playlists are longer than that.

Click the links below to go directly to each playlist. Then click the ❤️ to add that playlist to your library.

You can also go to my Spotify profile to follow me.

MY SPOTIFY PLAYLISTS:

Romance Playlist for Writers (...ANYONE) - Love songs. Listen while writing romance scenes of all heat levels, reading romance, & when you are with your love. Classics, 90s, and current hits.

Heartbreak Romance Playlist for Writers (...ANYONE) - Heartbreak/sad love songs. Listen while writing romance/scenes when your characters are heartbroken, or when you're feeling the blues from a breakup. Classics, 90s, & current hits. 

Erotica Playlist for Writers (...ANYONE) - Sexy playlist. Listen while writing steamy romance and erotic scenes, reading erotica, or when you want to get in the mood for sexy times. *wink* 

My Top 10 Favorite Battle Songs - These are my top picks for battle songs I listen to while writing battle scenes. They're ordered to be a progression from before, during, and after a battle. 

My Top 10 Favorite Fight Songs - These are my top picks for songs I listen to while writing fight scenes.

Action Playlist For Writers (...ANYONE) - Rock music and heavy metal. Listen while writing action scenes (fights, battles, etc.), reading suspense, or during those times when you need to vent anger.

For Fighters/Warriors/Survivors - A playlist to support survivors of domestic abuse and all forms of violence. These songs are about strength. Let them lift you up, make you feel powerful. Workout Playlist. Pump Up Playlist. All genres. 

Other Playlists I’ve Made:

Woman Empowerment

You Are A Goddess

Money & Abundance

Powerful Songs

Fun Songs To Get Up & Dance To

10 Fun Songs To Sing & Shout

10 Sings That’ll Make You Cry

My Top 10 Favorite Christmas Songs

APRIL 5 – 22

PRIZES: Signed paperback copy of A Fighting Chance, XOXO wall art décor, XO bath bombs coconut scent, travel size first aid kit, and an emergency flashlight that you recharge by squeezing.

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QUESTIONS: Do you use Spotify? Do you listen to music while you write OR to get inspired?

Habits and Quirks / Character ER + Question of the Month

This is my 500th blog post! YAY!!!! :D

A simple way to give a character more depth is to give your character a habit or quirk…or two. I eat salad and eggs at night for a snack, randomly sing “Jingle Bells, Batman Smells”, and wear socks every day even in the summer and even then my toenails are always painted pretty colors. Those are a few of my habits and quirks. I bet you have some, too.

Habit – a regular tendency or practice that is hard to give up.

Examples: smoking with a cup of coffee or after sex, flossing your teeth twice a day, cleaning when stressed, waking up early to exercise, binge watching TV shows or checking social media when bored, biting nails, comfort shopping, cracking knuckles, speaking with a full mouth, talking to yourself (aloud), and humming to yourself.

Quirk – a peculiar behavioral habit, a characteristic that makes someone special.

Examples: dots I’s with smiley faces or hearts, needs ice in every cold drink, quotes movies or books, always has a particular item wherever they go, replaces curse words with silly words, only eats specific candy colors (red M&Ms), sprouts off a lot of useless trivia, always sings the wrong words to songs, wears sunglasses even indoors, doesn’t step on cracks in sidewalks, and sighs while sleeping.

Giving your main character and a couple of the most important minor characters a couple good and bad habits and strange/funny quirks is a great way to make them realistic, fun, and memorable.

QUESTION: What are a few of your habits and quirks?

I always drink green tea in the morning and decaf coffee in the afternoon, and I put my feet on the coffee table.

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To join this monthly blog hop visit MichaelG D'Agostino's blog.

QUESTION: What kind of music best speaks to you?

This is a tricky question. All kinds of music speak to me. I listen to it all. Even rap and country, although I will admit those two I listen to less than the rest. On the top of the list of musical genres I enjoy is rock music and all of its variations, especially what is termed "gothic rock opera." Bands like Within Temptation kill this genre. I listen to their music and get tingles. Yes, tingles. I even listen to a band called Hollywood Undead, which blends heavy metal and rap music. Certain Christian music is great, too, but Christian Rock is my favorite. See? Rock music always pulls out on top. 

But...*pumps brakes*...that doesn't mean it "speaks to me" the best. I love rock music and listen to it the most when I write action/suspense, but the genre of music that speaks the most to me is from the '90s. 

Yes, '90s music. When I listen to '90s music, memories flood in and an instant smile lights my face. If I'm not listening to rock in one form or another, or one of my current obsessions (this has been Sia, Demi Lovato, and Lana Del Rey), I can be found listening to '90s music. I have a playlist on Spotify full of my favorite '90s songs. The first song is "Kiss from a Rose" by Seal and the last song is "Zombie" by The Cranberries. (I'm always adding to it.)