Deadline looming, I struggle to rewrite the same chapter for the twelfth time. It’s late, and I’m just so tired. Giving up, I head to YouTube to listen to some of my favorite oldie but goodie tunes. I come upon the Chicago song “25 or 6 to 4”. This was never my favorite Chicago hit, and I never really understood it until I listened to it now. The songwriter Robert Lamm is struggling through the night to write a song. He checks out the clock and realizes it’s almost 4 o’clock in the morning. 25 or 26 minutes until 4 am (3:35 am). The song instantly becomes my new favorite. Lamm gets me. He understood the late-night struggle to be creative under pressure.
Besides a new appreciation for the fabulous guitar solo, I’m feeling better about my writing. If Lamm can write a song about the writing struggle, I can revise the same chapter of my book one more time.
What songs inspire you to keep writing when you want to give up? Here are 10 songs to inspire struggling writers that I listen to when I have writers block or just don’t want to write anymore.
1. Chicago–“25 or 6 to 4”
As I said, I never truly appreciated the beauty of this song until I struggled with writing. Now I listen to this to keep on writing. Of course, I’m not going to write at three in the morning because I’m not a late-night person. However, even at three in the afternoon, when I’ve been staring at the same page for hours, and the words all run together, I stop for a chocolate break and this song. Watch the live version and be blown away by Terry Kath’s guitar playing and Peter Cetera’s gorgeous vocals.
2. Journey– “Don’t Stop Believing”
No matter how bad that first draft is or how few books you’ve sold. Keep writing, keep learning, keep going. If my husband isn’t around to tell me to keep writing, I can always listen to Steve Perry of Journey telling me not to stop believing in my work.
3. Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers– “I Won’t Back Down”
The deadline is looming, and I found a plot hole in my story. Maybe I should leave it. Who cares where the stupid letter went anyway? I care. My readers care. And like Mr. Tom Petty, I won’t back down. I will fix that plot hole and keep polishing this book until it shines.
4. Imagine Dragons- “Whatever It Takes”
“Whatever it takes“. Tea, chocolate, soda? I’ll have a little sugar and caffeine and open that manuscript up on my laptop and listen to this song as I write the next sentence.
5. Gloria Gaynor– “I Will Survive”
From the disco era of the 1970s comes the beautiful voice of Gloria Gaynor singing about how she’ll survive a breakup. When I listen to it, I sing along and add I will survive low book sales, fights about my covers, typos found after publishing. Oh, I’ll survive it all.
6. The Beatles– “Paperback Writer”
The biggest inspiration for most writers? Having someone read or even publish your book. I love this Beatles song about wanting to be a writer. Crank this song up and dream of the day when your book is finished, and you send it off to an agent or publisher. After the song is over, get back to writing. You can’t sell a book until it’s written.
7. Skillet- “Feel Invincible”
When things get rough, and you’re worn out, it’s time for a break. Your body and brain need to relax and rejuvenate to keep your creativity going. Go for a walk or, even better, exercise to this heavy metal headbanger. Feeling invincible? Attack that next paragraph.
8. Sail North– “Tale Of The Shadow”
Need creative inspiration? Pretend you’re a pirate and escape into this beautifully written tale about a ghost ship and those determined to steal her gold. There’s nothing like a rock pirate sea shanty to ease your burden and spur your imagination. Read the beautiful lyrics and marvel at their poetry. Sing along and drum out the beat to this song of pirates looking for adventure and finding danger. Hint: when even a banshee tells you to turn back, you should listen.
9. Survivor- “Eye Of The Tiger”
You fought back procrastination with “Feel Invincible”, now get ready to fight your inner critic with this classic. “Eye Of The Tiger“ by Survivor. If you keep writing, you’re a survivor, too. Turn it up loud and jog around like Sylvester Stallone in the movie Rocky as you remind yourself that to be a champion, you have to finish the fight, or the book you’re writing. Don’t forget to do the little Rocky dance with your arms raised at the end. Never lose the will to keep writing.
10. Toby Keith– “How Do You Like Me Now”
Laughter is the best medicine, and Toby Keith’s videos provide the laughs. “How Do You Like Me Now” tells the girl who mocked and rejected him when he was first starting in the music biz what a mistake she made. He brags about his success and how her rejection didn’t stop him from succeeding.
The video is hilarious, but the song means so much more to creatives when you learn that Toby Keith originally wrote this about his first record label. The company refused to promote and market his album, so he bought back his rights and started his own label, with other artists. The rest is history, as they say. This song is a taunt to his former label, asking them, now that he’s famous, how they like him now. Listen carefully at the end; you’ll hear the guitar playing “nanny, nanny, nah, nah.”
When you feel rejected, imagine yourself singing this to the agents, publishers, or readers who rejected your book. Imagine yourself as a bestselling writer singing to them all, ” How do you like me now?”
